Figure Pendant

Unknown

4th–8th century · Pyrophyllite · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Possessing a monumental quality despite its actual size, this simple stone pendant boldly depicts an abstract faceless figure with a body segmented into three registers. The prominent circular holes framed by the arms and head are not for suspension; there is a separate hole drilled through the neck for that purpose. Instead, they are negative spaces that clarify the hands-to-head posture of the figure. Speckled stone and an irregular, soft geometricity lend an organic air to the form. Realism is not a goal here as the incised delineations of digits depict eight toes on the figure's left foot.

Artist

Unknown

Date

4th–8th century

Medium

Pyrophyllite

Culture

Atlantic Watershed

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1966