1550 Vintage Beaded Tribal Hair Ornament

Rare Vintage Beaded Tassels Tribal Hair Ornament Fumtu

Made of glass beads and the very rare mini-cowrie shells.

Three separate strands that have been tied together at the top.

As Fumtu they are tied to the top of the braid and each strand is combined with one strand of the plait. This makes the braid thicker (thick hair is considered desirable and is a sign of beauty). In these regions, women traditionally wear their hair long - upto the hips - this practice is common among the 60+ year olds today.

But Fumtus as fashion accessories are not common any longer.

If hair begins to thin with age, instead of braiding it, they tie it into a bun - thus eliminating the fumtu.

Elaborately decorated ones such as this one were rare even in the regions that wore it in Gujarat. (In Punjab this is a common accessory).

This is probably a creative outburst of someone who loved her work, was bursting with ideas and applied her art skills to everything she used.

Has red, blue, yellow, green & white beads in varying sizes and cowrie shells in a geometric zome arrangement.

These are used by the nomadic herder groups in Rajasthan and Gujarat to decorate their beloved camels.

***

This item has spent a lifetime being used for the purpose of its creation with the original artist/user. Signs of this life lived heartily may be present on the piece in the form of stains, thread loss, loose threads, holes, tears, color run and other imperfections. Therefore the condition must be assumed to be “not” perfect. More photos of such imperfections will be provided on request.

***