Necklace: Pendant

Unknown

16th–18th century · Wood, ceramic, raffia · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

The broad expanse of open savanna in present-day Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola became a major center of trade between European and African peoples as early as the seventeenth century. The region was intersected by multiple trade routes that connected the Atlantic coast to the Central African interior and facilitated the exchange of European goods for African slaves and forest products such as ivory, rubber, and wax. Chiefs who managed to control this trade became exceptionally wealthy and powerful individuals.

Artist

Unknown

Date

16th–18th century

Medium

Wood, ceramic, raffia

Culture

Chokwe peoples

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

Gift of Herbert Weiss, 1996