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Luba. <em>Pendant</em>, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_PS2.jpg)
Luba. Pendant, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_PS2.jpg)
Luba. <em>Pendant</em>, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_PS2.jpg)

Luba. Pendant, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_PS2.jpg)

Luba. <em>Pendant</em>, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.22.1235_print_front_bw.jpg)

Luba. Pendant, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.22.1235_print_front_bw.jpg)

Luba. <em>Pendant</em>, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_bw.jpg)

Luba. Pendant, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_bw.jpg)

Luba. <em>Pendant</em>, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_threequarter_left_bw.jpg)

Luba. Pendant, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_threequarter_left_bw.jpg)

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Pendant

Arts of Africa

These pendants carved from hippopotamus teeth were strung on cords with beads and amulets. The gesture of the hands on the breasts signifies divination, respect, and the containment of royal secrets.

The pendants are portraits, or at least likenesses, of certain revered ancestors, who are named and honored. Devotees have rubbed the figures with oil in homage to these ancestors, creating a smooth, rich color and lustrous surface.

This text refers to these objects: 22.1235; 22.1234
CULTURE Luba
MEDIUM Hippopotamus tooth
  • Place Made: Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • DATES 19th century
    DIMENSIONS 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
    ACCESSION NUMBER 22.1235
    CREDIT LINE Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Pendant with slightly curved torso, carved in the round from a hippopotamus tooth. Face is oval-shaped; eyes, oval and closed; and nose, triangular. From back, headdress is flat with large cross carved in relief. Neck composed of three stacked folds or rings. Arms are close to body; hands hold breasts. Two curved projections extend from bottom of figure on each side. Wooden core is inserted in hollowed-out bottom of figure. Slight discoloration in center of torso; small check on top of head. Below neck area a hole pierces entire object for suspension.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Luba. Pendant, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_PS2.jpg)
    IMAGE profile, 22.1235_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
    Luba. <em>Pendant</em>, 19th century. Hippopotamus tooth, 3 3/4 x 1 x 1 1/4 in. (9.5 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1235. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1235_PS2.jpg)

    TAGS

    pendant
    Congo
    hippopotamus tooth
    tooth
    carved
    small
    ornament
    Africa
    African art
    sculpture
    female figure
    african
    women

    TAGS

    pendant
    Congo
    hippopotamus tooth
    tooth
    carved
    small
    ornament
    Africa
    African art
    sculpture
    female figure
    african
    women

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