Kirdi Pikuran Cache Sexe or Fertility Apron, Framed

The checkerboard came first. Then the cowries, clicking softly with each step.

This is a pikuran, a small beaded apron worn by Kirdi women of northern Cameroon in the 20th century. Such aprons could signal a woman’s status and identity. Glass beads on cotton make a lively field of red, yellow, green and purple squares, each holding a smaller square of contrasting color. Cowrie shells, spaced by bright beads, hang along the lower edge. Twisted fiber ties trail from each side.

It comes framed in pale wood against a white mat. Hang it across from a plain wall. The wall will not mind.