Object Details
Maker
Wolof artist
Label Text
This necklace was created for a less affluent woman or someone experiencing hardship during the economic decline of the 1990s. Its construction uses only one type of filigree (m’beg bu sayo), a small quantity of gold, and more openwork than typically seen in older, more conventional jewelry. After the 1990s, this became the contemporary technique employed in modern filigree work.
Description
Gold-plated silver alloy necklace, in a variation on the basket of flowers design, consisting of a central triagular pendant of twisted wire and openwork and flanked by smaller half circle pendants of twisted wire and openwork design; five on either side of the central pendant. Hook-and-eye closure.
Provenance
Marian Johnson, purchased in Dakar, Senegal, 1963-late 20th century to 2012
Exhibition History
Good As Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 24, 2018-February 2, 2020; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, September 16, 2020-January 3, 2021
Published References
Maples, Amanda, Ashby Johnson, Marian, and Dumouchelle, Kevin D., 2018, Good As Gold, Washington, D.C.: NMAfA, Smithsonian, illustrated p. 80
Content Statement
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Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Marian Ashby Johnson
Date
1950s-1970s
Object number
2012-18-17
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Jewelry
Medium
Gold-plated silver alloy
Dimensions
W x D x L: 3.9 x 0.5 x 47.1 cm (1 9/16 x 3/16 x 18 9/16 in.)
Geography
Senegal
See more items in
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source
National Museum of African Art
Topic
Adornment
Female use
geometric motif
male
floral
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmafa_2012-18-17