Bead
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.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.
Artwork Details
- Title: Bead
- Date: 11th–15th century
- Geography: Mali
- Culture: Tellem civilization
- Medium: Carnelian
- Dimensions: Approx. H. 2 × W. 1 × D. 1 in. (5.1 × 2.5 × 2.5 cm)
- Classification: Stone-Ornaments
- Credit Line: Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, Netherlands, on long-term loan from Musée National du Mali, Bamako
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing