Abstract
Artefacts can be approached as materializations or physical condensations of human activities,
interactions and relationships, and thus form an expression in which connections between peoples
can be read. I will employ a case study of Maasai beadwork as a window into a better understanding
of the concept of modernity, in the process refuting widespread assumptions concerning Maasai
culture as well as deeply rooted modernist dichotomies. The Eastern African Maasai are one of the
most famous ethnic groups of Africa, and often seen as iconic premoderns, for example described as
‘“our primitive ancestors” who have not yet eaten of the tree of knowledge that is “modern
civilizations”’ (Bruner and Kirshenblatt‐Gimblett, 1994: 438). Their beadwork is widely recognized as
an ethnic marker and commonly approached as a traditional artefact. However, I will show how the
very presence of Maasai beadwork as well as its uses and designs are actually the result of modern
developments...