In 1947 in Kwon Fashoda, Sudan, Life magazine photographer Eliot Elisofon photographed a man named Adieng Luon making aluminum pendants with metal from an airplane crash. Close by, near Malakal, Elisofon photographed a man and two women wearing the pendants on chains. From his field photographs it seems that the women wore rectangular pendants with incised and punched scenes of western garbed men with guns. The man wore a round pendant with a bovine.
Description:
Rectangular aluminum pendant with incised decoration of four men in western dress with guns and braided motif around perimeter, on a chain.
Provenance:
Eliot Elisfon, New York, collected Malakal, Sudan, 1947 to 1973
Exhibition History:
Africa ReViewed: The Photographic Legacy of Eliot Elisofon, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 21, 2013-December 14, 2014
Published References:
Staples, Amy J. 2014. "Africa ReViewed: The Photographic Legacy of Eliot Elisofon." Tribal Art 19 (2), no. 71, p. 86, no. (installation view).
Content Statement:
As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
Image Requests:
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
