Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, possibly Baule-style goldsmith / 1900s
Pendant: Face
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Pendant: Face as jewelry (Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, possibly Baule-style goldsmith · 1900s).
The raised texture seen on the forehead are remains of the gating technique used to introduce molten metal into the mold during lost-wax casting and indicate that the surface was not highly finished after casting.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this jewelry as Gold.
The museum's collection notes: Cast using the lost-wax method, gold objects are the only Baule art forms associated with ancestral spirits. Usually stored in suitcases or pots, a collection of gold adornments ( aja ) are displayed on important occasions such as funerals. They are laid out around the corpse before burial as a sign of respect and their family's wealth. Faces such as this pendant are said to be idealized portraits of friends or lovers. This depiction of a man has a beard and elaborately styled hair.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPendant: FaceOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.