The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Pendant: Cross Form with Bird

before 1942

Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Asante goldsmith

Gold
Overall: 5.8 x 3.3 cm (2 5/16 x 1 5/16 in.)
James Albert Ford Memorial Fund 1942.170
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

To make this casting, a brass caster first modeled the shape in wax.

Description

Shared by different Akan and Akan-related peoples, including the Asante and Baule, gold ornaments indicate status and wealth and are worn at public festivals by titleholders, chiefs, and kings.
  • ?-1942
    (Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, NY)
    1942-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH by purchase
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Invoice from Pierre Matisse Gallery, March 6, 1942; Check Form Memorandum with Accessions Committee Meeting 2-13-42. CMA Curatorial File
  • Milliken, William. "Exhibition of Gold." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 34, no. 9 (November 1947): 211-212. Mentioned: p. 211-212; Reproduced: p. 235 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=Pendant: Cross Form with Bird|url=false|author=|year=before 1942|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.170