Object Details
- Tukulor artist
- Label Text
- Bracelets were essential to a woman’s collection, and a simple version was often a Wolof woman’s first acquisition. Like necklaces and earrings, bracelets come in a wide variety of inventive styles, from the braided and twisted designs, which required the female client’s presence to designate the tightness of the twist, to delicate, European-inspired flowers, to Islamic-inspired half-moon bracelets.
- Known as bat u Ganare, or “neck of the rooster,” this bracelet is an example of the Senegalese practice of creating jewelry from mixtures of copper and silver gilded with a layer of gold wash or plating, rather than creating a piece entirely out of gold. This technique allowed for greater control of jewelry color, an important component of Senegalese taste.
- Description
- Gold-plated silver alloy hinged bracelet of twisted metal base with overall applied wheel-like rosettes. The closure is composed of two large spherical balls meant to be held together by a pin, covered in granulation and wheel-like rosettes. Applied undulating wire graces the circumference of each sphere. The bracelet is missing its closing pin
- 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
- African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (installed June 12, 2015-August 1, 2017)
- Published References
- Maples, Amanda, Ashby Johnson, Marian, and Dumouchelle, Kevin D., 2018, Good As Gold, Washington, D.C.: NMAfA, Smithsonian, p. 73, illustrated p. 75
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Credit Line
- Gift of Dr. Marian Ashby Johnson
- Early to mid-20th century
- Object number
- 2012-18-151
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Jewelry
- Medium
- Gold-plated silver alloy
- Dimensions
- H x W x D (closed): 8.7 x 8.8 x 3 cm (3 7/16 x 3 7/16 x 1 3/16 in.)
- Geography
- Senegal
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- Object Name
- Bat u Ganare
- lamou batou nganar
- National Museum of African Art
- Topic
- Adornment
- Female use
- male
- floral
- flower
- Record ID
- nmafa_2012-18-151
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys716e90397-b679-4d46-9a5b-41742a9df7dd
