Object Details
- Label Text
- These extremely stylized butterfly necklaces may be a marriage between the basket of flowers motif (seen elsewhere in the gallery) and earlier, more European-inspired butterfly designs. Butterfly designs, used in Senegal from the early 20th century, fell out of favor around 1960 when the independent country’s first president instituted a national art movement that accentuated African character and authenticity, turning away from European influences.
- Description
- Gold-plated silver alloy necklace of a central triangular shaped filigree and openwork pendant, a variation on the basket of flowers design, flanked by four filigree and openwork pendants on the central pendant's proper right and five filigree and openwork pendants on the central pendant's proper left. The central pendant has a central upside down teardrop with undulating filigree, two smaller teardrops at the upper corners, and with the bottom edges of the inverted triangle bearing applied openwork inverted triangle motif. Smaller filigree pendants bear two teardrop shaped motifs filled with undulating filigree and granulation in the center of each teardrop. All pendants are surmounted by leaf or butterfly motifs with tiny rosettes and filigree. Springring clasp.
- Provenance
- Marian Johnson, purchased in Dakar, Senegal, 1963-late 20th century to 2012
- Exhibition History
- Good As Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 24, 2018-February 2, 2020; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, September 16, 2020-January 3, 2021
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Wolof artist
- Date
- 1920s
- Credit Line
- Gift of Dr. Marian Ashby Johnson
- Medium
- Gold-plated silver alloy
- Dimensions
- W x D x L: 5.4 x 0.5 x 46.8 cm (2 1/8 x 3/16 x 18 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Jewelry
