Object Details
- Label Text
- Both the Tusyan and the Senufo peoples employ cast copper alloy figures as protective pendants. Related in form to the figures used by a diviner, their use is in fact prescribed by a diviner to influence the spirit causing the illness or problem. Typically the pendants consist of two or more flat, stylized figures with linked arms, standing on a trapezoidal base.
- Description
- Cast copper alloy pendant with two stylized figures with circular arms atop a trapezoidal base. Surface of the pendant is worn smooth.
- Provenance
- Benjamin Weiss, New York, -- to 1980
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Senufo artist
- Date
- Early to mid-20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of Benjamin Weiss
- Medium
- Copper alloy
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 2.9 x 2.9 x 0.3 cm (1 1/8 x 1 1/8 x 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
