Woman's Skirt

Arts of Africa

Early 20th century

Iraqw
Tanzania
Eastern and Southern Africa

This skirt was probably made for a coming-of-age rite known as marmo that signaled a girl’s eligibility for marriage. Such skirts would feature common motifs including the sun and stars, water, and lines representing the ups and downs of life, which can be seen here. Today, Iraqw women create these skirts for new brides in honor of their marriages. Though tastes and fashion have evolved, and modern skirts differ greatly from older examples like this one, makers have carried forward many of the same design elements and symbolism.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Iraqw
Title: Woman's Skirt
Place: Tanzania (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1930–1970
Medium: Animal hide, glass beads, and thread
Dimensions: 152.4 × 142.3 cm (60 × 56 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of the Michael R. Mack Collection
Reference Number: 2024.72

High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, March 23 - August 25, 2013, Symmetry/Asymmetry: African Textiles, Dress, and Adornment.
Hammonds House Museum, Atlanta, GA, March 29 - May 3, 2015, Cultural Diagnostics: The Imprint of African Textiles and Objects from the Collection of Michael Mack.

Ally Kackoyi, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Bill (and Gale) Simmons, New York, 2006; consigned to Jacaranda Gallery, New York, from 2006 to 2012; sold to Michael Mack, Atlanta, GA, 2012 [invoice in curatorial files]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2023.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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