“Love Letter” Necklace

Zulu artist

1970s

Glass beads, wire

Saint Louis Art Museum

A black beaded necklace with a rectangular pendant featuring white text. The pendant is suspended from multiple strands of black beads. Bold, graphic text in white stands out against a black background on the pendant of this beaded necklace. The phrase “ mina ngabelwa ” in the Zulu language roughly translates to “I was assigned.” The individual words mina , nga , and belwa may be interpreted as “I,” “may,” and “fight,” respectively. Although the identities and context surrounding this necklace’s maker and recipient were not recorded, either message implies strong opposition to the situation. For instance, she may have fought an assigned marriage. If, instead, the text was made for…