Prestige or Display Beaded Glassware
Tutsi People, Rwanda
1930s-1950s
Imported glass bottle wrapped with a mesh of glass beads strung with cotton thread
13 inches height (33 cm)
The vibrant tradition of beaded glassware, which speaks to a brilliant adaptation and fusion of indigenous forms and foreign influences in Rwanda and Burundi, was a colonial innovation rooted in traditional Tutsi basketry and patterning that met the same needs for prestige display and gift-giving.
Price on request
