Pendant
Unknown Artist
1900s
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
3.6 × 7.7 cm
Classification
Jewelry
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1952.85
About this artwork
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.