Beaded bandolier (Translation)
utamatama (Primary Title)
Mantuli Biyela, South African, active mid 20th century (Artist)
MaNtuli Biyela created the dramatic beaded vestments (2013.195a-e, g, h, m) for her husband, Mthandeni Biyela. The Biyela family is from the Ntumeni clan, part of the Zulu polity living in the Eshowe region of today’s province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Based on the beads and the threads used, the garments were probably made in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The garments were collected by Nesta MaDube Zondi in the 1980s directly from Mrs. Biyela, who sold them after her husband had passed away.
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
© artist or artist’s estate
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