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Chest

National Museum of African Art

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
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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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 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
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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