Ornament

Object Details

Soninke artist

Label Text

Jewish artisans who fled Spain during the Inquisition in the late 15th century and settled in North Africa brought with them the jewelry techniques of filigree and granulation. While the delicate linear designs and ornamental forms of these pendants and beads are centuries old, the objects themselves were probably created only about a hundred years ago. Gold can be easily melted and remade into new forms in keeping with changing patterns of taste and wealth.

Description

Gold-plated silver alloy four pointed spiral ornament with four circular projections on roped bases and a central floral-like projection.

Provenance

Roy and Brigitta Mitchell, Washington, D.C., -- to 2010

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 (deinstalled August 28, 2018)

African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010-November 13, 2013

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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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 the Roy and Brigitta Mitchell Collection

Late 19th-early 20th century

Object number

2010-10-5

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Jewelry

Medium

Gold-plated silver alloy

Dimensions

H x W x D: 3.3 x 4.2 x 0.7 cm (1 5/16 x 1 5/8 x 1/4 in.)

Geography

Mauritania

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

Object Name

koloni

National Museum of African Art

Topic

Adornment

Female use

male

Record ID

nmafa_2010-10-5

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys70ff491f7-ce25-44da-9973-1530e5e00acf