Turkana Beaded Basketry Bag Kenya MATTER COLLECTION

Beaded Basketry bag, embellished with Cowrie shells and glass beads. It has a fabric strap, leather trim and a plastic buckle.

Many Turkana families are now engaged in agriculture and fishing. While there are a quite few art-producing people of Kenyan origin who have contributed significantly to the recognition of East African art, the Turkana, along with their closely related neighbors the Maasai, are arguably among the most important of them all. In fact, much of the art from the Turkana region is composed of a wide variety of everyday objects out of wood, leather and gourd, but in their hands many of these utilitarian pieces have risen to levels of beauty unparalleled in East Africa.

Their styles are similar to these found among the other nomadic pastoralists of Uganda, central Africa and Ethiopia, particularly among the Karamajong, and Pokot. All these peoples share cultural traits with the Turkana.

Provenance: Matter Collection

From the collection of Margie and Phil Matter. Margie lived in South Africa, and later she and her husband Phil opened a gallery in Tucson. Everything in this collection was in their home for more than thirty years. Africa Direct recently bought the collection; at 95, Margie wants to share the things she has loved so much.