Collection record · Small worlds
Pendant: Face
The collection record classifies this work as jewelry. It is dated 1900s. Recorded culture or place: Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, possibly Baule-style goldsmith.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Pendant: Face
- Date
- 1900s
- Culture / origin
- Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, possibly Baule-style goldsmith
- Materials and technique
- Gold
- Dimensions
- Overall: 7.6 x 5 cm (3 x 1 15/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1954.602
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Cast using the lost-wax method, gold objects are the only Baule art forms associated with ancestral spirits. Usually stored in suitcases or pots, a collection of gold adornments (aja) are displayed on important occasions such as funerals. They are laid out around the corpse before burial as a sign of respect and their family's wealth. Faces such as this pendant are said to be idealized portraits of friends or lovers. This depiction of a man has a beard and elaborately styled hair.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · John L. Severance Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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