Head Wrap, worn by Jeni LeGon: Museum Object and Cultural History
Head Wrap, worn by Jeni LeGon: Date made: c. 1966-1969. Object Name: Head Wrap. Physical Description: cotton (overall material).
The object in the museum catalogue
Headwrap in brightly patterned turquoise, orange, yellow, green and brown medallion print cotton; band of fabric folded lengthwise, with zig-zag machine-sewn seam crossed and stitched together at back. Worn by Jeni LeGon in the traveling show with her dance troupe, "Jazz Caribe," in the late 1960's. Goes with dress (Cat. #2002.0389.02.01).
Jeni LeGon (born Jennie Ligon, 1916– 2012), also credited as Jeni Le Gon, was an American dancer, dance instructor, and actress. She was one of the first African-American women to establish a solo career in tap dance. In 1999, the National Film Board of Canada released a documentary film about her life, Jeni Le Gon: Living in a Great Big Way, directed by Grant Greshuk and produced by Selwyn Jacob.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date made: c. 1966-1969
- Object Name: Head Wrap
- Physical Description: cotton (overall material)
- Measurements: overall: 34 in x 6 1/2 in; 86.36 cm x 16.51 cm
- Subject: Dancers
- Subject: African American
- ID Number: 2002.0389.02.02
- accession number: 2002.0389
- catalog number: 2002.0389.02.02
- Credit Line: Gift of Dr. Jeni LeGon
- Data Source: National Museum of American History
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.
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