Hair ornament

Object Details

Tukulor artist

Label Text

Tiny refined hair ornaments are abundant, catching many an eye as they, like the women who wore them, beamed in the light. As part of a well-executed performance of sañse, a woman’s gleaming jewelry reminds observers that she was not only well respected and beautiful, but had the means and the social networks to carry off such a display of splendor.

Description

Gold-plated silver alloy semicircular or horseshoe shaped hair ornament with a rectangular top, decorated in granulation surmounting circles of wire, and twisted and untwisted wire around the edges and inside the horseshoe design. The back is hammered metal with a single pierced hole for air release or for sewing into the hair. The top rectangular bar has a hole pierced through it to allow for being attached to hair or a cord.

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 February 13, 2015-August 1, 2017)

Content Statement

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Credit Line

Gift of Dr. Marian Ashby Johnson

Mid-20th century

Object number

2012-18-62

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Jewelry

Medium

Gold-plated silver alloy

Dimensions

H x W x D: 2 x 1.6 x 0.5 cm (3/4 x 5/8 x 3/16 in.)

Geography

Senegal

Mauritania

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

Adornment

Female use

male

Record ID

nmafa_2012-18-62

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7bf3bdf4f-624a-4efc-b3ac-68523b035afc