H x W x D: 5.9 x 37.7 x 3 cm (2 5/16 x 14 13/16 x 1 3/16 in.)
Type:
Jewelry
Geography:
South Sudan
Date:
Early to mid-20th century
Label Text:
The Topotha live in Equatoria, the southernmost area of the Republic of Sudan. A seminomadic, cattle-keeping people, they organize their society on the basis of age grades. The Topotha are culturally and linguistically related to the Karamojong cluster.
The Topotha adorned their cattle with ornaments like this one. The woven leather thong was looped around the horns, and the bone pendant rested on the cow's forehead.
Description:
Crescent-shaped bone pendant with pointillated design on braided leather.
Provenance:
Jean-Pierre Ghysels, Brussels, -- to 1983
Exhibition History:
History, Context, Materials: Selections from the Permanent Collection of the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 12, 1985-January 5, 1986
Patterns and Forms, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., August 20-September 16, 1984
Published References:
National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 156, no. 112.
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