Art Institute of Chicago

Bracelet

Islamic

Date

14th-15th century

Medium

Glass

Department

Arts of Africa

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

For hundreds of years, women up and down the eastern coast of Africa wore bracelets like these as highly fashionable accessories. Simple monochromatic glass bangles first became common in Egypt beginning in the Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE), with multiple color chips and new designs emerging during the Roman period (30 BCE–395 CE). After the arrival of Islam in the 7th century, elaborately designed bracelets became the norm. In the 17th century, artists began to add a multicolored spiral band on the outside of each bangle, seen here in black and white. Glass workshops continued to produce such bangles until the end of the 19th century.

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