Images(3)

Isocholo (Married Woman's Headdress)

DateMid-20th Century

MediumFiber, fabric, and ochre pigment

DimensionsHeight: 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm)
Diameter (exterior): 19 in. (48.3 cm)
Diameter (interior opening): 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm)

ClassificationsTextiles

Credit LineGift of Julianna Simmons

Object number2017.20.16

On View

On view

Label TextThis flared headdress (isicholo) was historically reserved for married women and signified her status. Based on a conical hairstyle that married Zulu women wore in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, it has today been adopted as part of traditional Zulu dress ensembles worn exclusively at ceremonial events and special occasions. Such hats past and present are rubbed with red ocher and fat as a symbol of prosperity, but ochre is also used as a natural sunscreen and skin treatment, associating it with feminine beauty. It has thus become one of the most popular and identifiable symbols of Zulu womanhood.
[December 2020 Rotation, A. Maples]ProvenanceDavid Roberts (dealer), South Africa; sold to William B. Simmons, New York, NY, July 18, 2002; given to daughter Julianna Simmons, New York, NY, n.d.; given to NCMA, 2017.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection Reimagined," October 20, 2025-present. Object Rights Statement

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