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Object Details
- Baule artist
- Label Text
- Gold leafing is a centuries-old technique in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. A small pellet of gold is repeatedly hammered and turned on an anvil to achieve a uniformly thin sheet. This sheet is then placed on a carved wood object and affixed with tiny metal staples or an adhesive. In addition to hair ornaments, this technique is applied to a wide variety of figures and prestige display items that are owned by individuals of high status.
- Description
- Wood and gold leaf comb and/or hair ornament surmounted by a standing bird. The upper portion of the comb and bird are decorated in zigzag and geometric designs.
- Provenance
- Judith Timyan, acquired Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, 1974 to 1994
- 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, April 4-July 5, 2020
- Inauguration 2009, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 17-March 2, 2009
- Hair in African Art and Culture, Museum for African Art Long Island City, NY, February 9-May 28, 2000; Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, February 8-April 15, 2001; California African-American Museum, Los Angeles, May 14-August 15, 2001; Diggs Gallery, Winston-Salem State University, September 22-December 15, 2001
- Art of the Personal Object, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1991-April 9, 2007
- Published References
- Sieber, Roy and Frank Herreman. 2000. Hair in African Art and Culture. New York: Museum for African Art; Munich: Prestel, p. 126, no. 116.
- Credit Line
- Gift of Judith Timyan
- Early to mid-20th century
- Object number
- 94-3-1
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Sculpture
- Medium
- Wood, gold leaf, thread
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 15.6 x 4.1 x 1.5 cm (6 1/8 x 1 5/8 x 9/16 in.)
- Geography
- Côte d'Ivoire
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- National Museum of African Art
- Topic
- bird
- Adornment
- geometric motif
- male
- Record ID
- nmafa_94-3-1
- Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
- Usage conditions apply
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys789f4cc7f-95dc-482d-bba7-87d0e162bc70
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