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Jul 8, 2009

Pendant: Crocodile

1930 or earlier

Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, probably Baule-style goldsmith

Gold

Overall: 4.9 cm (1 15/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1952.265

Location

108C Akan & Yoruba

Did you know?

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.

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.

Provenance

by at least 1935

Tristan Tzara by at least 1935

Nasli Heeramaneck, NY until 1952

1952

Cleveland Museum of Art by purchase, 1952

Citations

Radin, Paul, and James Johnson Sweeney. African Folktales & Sculpture. New York: Pantheon Books, 1952. Mentioned: p. 346; Reproduced: pl. 105

Brooklyn Museum. Masterpieces of African Art. Exhibition Dates: October 21, 1954-January 2, 1955. [Brooklyn]: Brooklyn Museum, 1954. Mentioned: p. 46; Reproduced: no. 125

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 389 archive.org

Robbins, Warren M. African Art in American Collections = L'art Africain Dans Les Collections Americaines. New York: F.A. Praeger, 1966. Reproduced: p. 91, no. 86

Sweeney, James Johnson. African Sculpture. [Princeton, N.J.]: Princeton University Press, 1970. Mentioned: p. 189; Reproduced: pl. 105

Vogel, Susan Mullin. Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1997. Mentioned: p. 299; Reproduced: p. 201

Webb, Virginia-Lee, and Walker Evans. Perfect Documents: Walker Evans and African Art, 1935. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned: p. 22; Reproduced: p. 23, no. 13

Robbins, Warren M. African sculpture. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub, 2005. Reproduced: p. 91, no. 86

Exhibition history

NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Perfect Documents: Walker Evans and African Art" 2/1/00 - 9/3/00

New Haven, CT: Yale University Art Gallery, 8/30/97 - 1/4/98. Art Institute of Chicago, 2/14/98 - 5/19/98. NY: The Museum for African Art, 9/11/98 - 1/3/99. Washington, DC: National Museum for African Art, 2/9/99 - 5/16/99, Baule: African Art: Western Eyes. color repr. p. 201.

Baule: African Art/Western Eyes. Yale University Art Gallery (organizer) (August 30, 1997-January 4, 1998); The Art Institute of Chicago (February 14-May 10, 1998).

Baule: African Art/Western Eyes. Museum for African Art, NY (September 11, 1998-January 3, 1999); National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC (February 9-May 16, 1999).

Perfect Documents: Walker Evans and African Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (February 1-September 3, 2000).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Pendant: Crocodile|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.265|year=1930 or earlier|access-date=29 November 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Pendant: Crocodile

Pendant: Crocodile

Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, probably Baule-style goldsmith

Location

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Description

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