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Source Description
These pendants were cast in gold using the lost-wax method. Gold objects 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
121810
label
Pendant: Face in Diamond
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
121810
contentType
object
title
Pendant: Face in Diamond
description
These pendants were cast in gold using the lost-wax method. Gold objects 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.
date
1900s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60756460
genreSpecific
Jewelry
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 9.2 x 8.9 cm (3 5/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
cul
Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, probably Baule-style goldsmith
accession
1942.171
Source extras
tec
Gold
tombstone
Pendant: Face in Diamond, 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, probably Baule-style goldsmith. Gold; overall: 9.2 x 8.9 cm (3 5/8 x 3 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, James Albert Ford Memorial Fund, 1942.171
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
This pendant may be an idealized portrait that the person who wore it knew.
citations
citation
Milliken, William. "Exhibition of Gold." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>34, no. 9 (November 1947): 211-212.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 211-212; Reproduced: p. 235
creditline
James Albert Ford Memorial Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:16:26.036000
sourceId
121810
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Gold
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
20bd9593174cafd9