Pendant: Female Half Figure

Unknown

19th–20th century · Pig or warthog tusk · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Ivories are made by professional sculptors to be worn as decorative pendants. While its texture and resistance to cracking make elephant ivory the material of choice, the thighbones of hippopotamuses allow artists to achieve comparable effects. Bodily contact through wear alters the whiteness of the pendants. Although this effect is prized by Western collectors, the ornament's surface is scrubbed daily with water and abrasive sand, which blurs the features over time.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th–20th century

Medium

Pig or warthog tusk

Culture

Luba peoples

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1961