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Source Description
This pendant was 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
129226
label
Pendant: Face in Crescent
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
129226
contentType
object
title
Pendant: Face in Crescent
description
This pendant was 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
Q60760407
genreSpecific
Jewelry
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 7 x 7.4 cm (2 3/4 x 2 15/16 in.)
cul
Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, probably Baule-style goldsmith
accession
1952.118
Source extras
tec
Gold
tombstone
Pendant: Face in Crescent, 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, probably Baule-style goldsmith. Gold; overall: 7 x 7.4 cm (2 3/4 x 2 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1952.118
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
Although the surface of this pendant was likely enriched (worked to enhance the surface level of gold) at the time of manufacture, the dark spots on the face show us where this enriched layer has worn away.
citations
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 390
citation
Vogel, Susan Mullin. <em>Baule: African Art, Western Eyes</em>. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1997.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 299; Reproduced: p. 201
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:40:11.018000
sourceId
129226
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Gold
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
bf406d6bd86f7f89