Object Details
- Label Text
- The most skilled African artisans created jewelry from the most precious metals--brass, copper, silver and gold. While bracelets, pendants and earrings were decorative, they were also store currency, representing the accumulated wealth of individuals or families.
- Although attributed to the Baule, this pendant and other forms of jewelry made by Baule metalsmiths could have circulated in the coastal region of Côte d'Ivoire, where gold jewelry was a prized possession of wealthy families, and public exhibitions of acquired gold served to increase one's status. This pendant is in the form of a mudfish, a mythical or composite creature that is capable of various transformations.
- Description
- Gold alloy pendant in the form of a curving fish form with openwork triangle pattern on the body and triangular projections from the head.
- Provenance
- Henri Kamer, Paris
- David Markin, Kalamazoo, Michigan, -- to 1973
- Exhibition History
- Art of the Personal Object, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1991-April 9, 2007
- The Art of African Currency, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C., April 4-November 22, 2002
- Metalwork of the Ivory Coast, National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, April 10-May 29, 1994
- African Emblems of Status, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 29, 1982-April 3, 1983
- Published References
- Park, Edwards. 1983. Treasures of the Smithsonian. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, p. 387.
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Baule artist
- Date
- Mid-20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of David R. Markin
- Medium
- Gold alloy, copper alloy
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 9.5 x 10.5 x 1.8 cm (3 3/4 x 4 1/8 x 11/16 in.)
- Type
- Jewelry
