The Zulu warrior research I did showed the fur worn around the knee area and the wrapped fabric/leather loin cloth. The rest is my own interpretation.
His body is made of muslin from my own pattern, then stuffed and beaded with black metallic and black opaque glass seed beads and bugle beads.
His staff is Maplewood and hand carved by knife. The bottom is spiraled and comes to a point in a tin cone tip. The top is 2 pronged with many embellishments. Rope, feathers, black onyx, and bell clusters. It took me 12 hours just to make this staff. His machete is also hand carved from a bone bead. The handle is wrapped in waxed cording.
His dreadlocked hair is tipped with a gold bead at the end of each lock. It took me over 8 hours just to bead the hair.
The face is made by me from brown and black fimo clay and a mold.
His shield is a piece of shell on a leather strap that also helps him to stand straight on the rock and plastic base that is his display. He is removable from the display, as are all my dolls for cleaning with a damp cloth. He is for display purposes and not to be played with.
www.littlebead.etsy.com
