Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Bead
Not on view
What little is known of Tellem society is based on the contents of remote chambers of Bandiagara necropoli, or collective burial sites. Tellem residents of villages located at the foot of the high cliff in the Séno plain went to great lengths to hoist up and deposit their dead for safeguarding within its caves, along with precious possessions and agricultural reserves. Among the items of adornment recovered are cylindrical quartz plugs worn in the lip, nose, and ears and beads made of glass, quartz, and carnelian. Other intimate possessions that accompanied their owners into the afterlife include headrests and stools.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
