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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. Pendants can have many uses. Usually hidden in pots or suitcases, gold adornments can be displayed on important occasions such as funerals. They can be 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
129836
label
Pendant: Crocodile
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
129836
contentType
object
title
Pendant: Crocodile
description
This pendant was cast in gold using the lost-wax method. Gold objects are the only Baule art forms associated with ancestor spirits. Pendants can have many uses. Usually hidden in pots or suitcases, gold adornments can be displayed on important occasions such as funerals. They can be 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
1930 or earlier
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60756166
genreSpecific
Jewelry
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 4.9 cm (1 15/16 in.)
cul
Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, probably Baule-style goldsmith
accession
1952.265
Source extras
tec
Gold
tombstone
Pendant: Crocodile, 1930 or earlier. Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, probably Baule-style goldsmith. Gold; overall: 4.9 cm (1 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1952.265
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
A goldsmith had to create superfine rolls of wax to make the texture of this piece; the wax was used to make a mold into which liquid gold was poured.
citations
citation
Radin, Paul, and James Johnson Sweeney. A<em>frican Folktales & Sculpture. </em>New York: Pantheon Books, 1952.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 346; Reproduced: pl. 105
citation
Brooklyn Museum. <em>Masterpieces of African Art. Exhibition Dates: October 21, 1954-January 2, 1955.</em> [Brooklyn]: Brooklyn Museum, 1954.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 46; Reproduced: no. 125
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. 389
citation
Robbins, Warren M. <em>African Art in American Collections = L'art Africain Dans Les Collections Americaines</em>. New York: F.A. Praeger, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 91, no. 86
citation
Sweeney, James Johnson. <em>African Sculpture</em>. [Princeton, N.J.]: Princeton University Press, 1970.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 189; Reproduced: pl. 105
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
citation
Webb, Virginia-Lee, and Walker Evans. <em>Perfect Documents: Walker Evans and African Art, 1935</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 22; Reproduced: p. 23, no. 13
citation
Robbins, Warren M. <em>African sculpture.</em> Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub, 2005.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 91, no. 86
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:42:00.012000
sourceId
129836
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Gold
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
8e54b71f26a879a8