Chest

Object Details

Swahili artist

Label Text

While this particular style of brass covered chest is described by scholars as “Bombay,” the history of the chests is much more complex and exemplifies the Indian Ocean trade. Widespread tales ascribe their origin to the days when large sailing dhows followed the annual monsoons bringing trade goods to the east coast of Africa from the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf and the western coast of India. While traditionally assigned multiple points of origin, the decorated teak wood chests would be refurbished in African ports for local and foreign clients. The metal was polished, the wood stained red and cylindrical legs or a stand added.

Description

Wood rectangular lidded chest over three drawers with pierced brass overlay, red stain

Provenance

Rod and Nancy E. MacDonald, acquired Bagomoyo, Tanzania, 1971-1972 to 2015

Exhibition History

African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (installed November 6, 2015 to February 26, 2018)

Content Statement

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Credit Line

Gift in memory of Nancy E. MacDonald

Early to mid-20th century

Object number

2015-7-1

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Decorative Arts

Medium

Wood, copper, brass

Dimensions

H x W x D: 42.6 × 98.1 × 42.8 cm (16 3/4 × 38 5/8 × 16 7/8 in.)

Geography

Bagomoyo, Tanzania

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

Marriage

Household

male

Record ID

nmafa_2015-7-1

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7a377d4b9-0155-4bd9-8c3e-7ef65f37a458