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Pendant
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Gold objects, always cast using the lost-wax method, are the only Baule art forms associated with ancestor spirits. Usually hidden in pots or suitcases, gold adornments are displayed on important occasions such as funerals. They are laid out around the corpse before burial. A widow will wear them on a chain around her neck or attached to her hair at the ceremony signaling the end of mourning.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePendant, 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, probably Baule-style goldsmith. Gold; overall: 3.6 x 7.7 cm (1 7/16 x 3 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1952.85
