[Pendant] Among the Baule, artists cast gold pendants in a variety of forms, including the human face. Important men and women wore the pendants as hair ornaments, suspended them from necklaces, or attached them to caps.

Today, the Baule cherish these pendants as family heirlooms and wear them on significant occasions, such as the installation of a chief, and at receptions for local and foreign dignitaries.

Courtesy of the National Museum of African Art, bequest of Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss.

Pendant, Baule peoples, Cote d'Ivoire, early 20th century A.D., gold alloy


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