Bracelet

This example is probably from the Lobi peoples, although similar examples are worn by the Tusyan. Bracelets with python imagery are worn as protective charms by men, women and children in Burkina Faso and bordering Côte d'Ivoire. The python generally emerges as a symbol partly because of its size and strength, but more often because of its ability to cross various aspects of nature, making the transition from land to water.

Cast copper alloy bracelet with relief of a snake and the body of the bracelet compressed into a serpentine form.

Unknown jeweler, Côte d'Ivoire or Burkina Faso; acquired under unknown circumstances by Philip L. Ravenhill (1945-1997), Washington, D.C., while conducting anthropological research among Wan communities in Côte d'Ivoire, 1972-1974; donated to the National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., 1996.

Artful Animals, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2009-July 25, 2010

Gifts to the National Collection of African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 17, 1997-January 4, 1998

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