Cleveland Museum of Art

Pendant: Face in Crescent

Date

1900s

Medium

Gold

Culture

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

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This pendant was cast in gold using the lost-wax method. Gold objects are the only Baule art forms associated with ancestor spirits. Usually hidden in pots or suitcases, gold adornments are displayed on important occasions such as funerals. They are 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. Although the surface of this pendant was likely enriched (worked to enhance the surface level of gold) at the time of manufacture, the dark spots on the face show us where this enriched layer has worn away.

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