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Pair of pendants (xobu gerté)
Unidentified artist, Dakar, Senegal
Pair of pendants (xobu gerté)
1910s–1920s
Gold-plated silver alloy
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Dr. Marian Ashby Johnson, 2012-18-56
Pair of pendants (xobu gerté)
Peanut power
These pendants may represent the peanut or groundnut, the gathering and selling of which is exclusively a female activity. Any income generated from the sale of groundnuts belongs entirely to the woman, as does any jewelry she may commission or receive as gifts of betrothal and marriage or from mutual aid collectives known as tontines. Naming jewelry inspired by the peanut plant would have been a woman’s responsibility, revealing the collaborative nature of creating jewelry.
Pair of necklace pendants
Unidentified artist, Dakar, Senegal
Pair of necklace pendants
Mid-20th century
Gold-plated silver alloy
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Dr. Marian Ashby Johnson, 2012-18-42
Pair of necklace pendants
Pendant (xobu gerté)
Unidentified artist, Dakar, Senegal
Pendant (xobu gerté)
20th century
Gold-plated silver alloy
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Dr. Marian Ashby Johnson, 2012-18-47
Pendant (xobu gerté)
Necklace (tokoro)
Wolof or Tukulor artist, Dakar, Senegal
Necklace (tokoro)
20th century
Gold-plated silver alloy, yarn
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Dr. Marian Ashby Johnson, 2012-18-213
Necklace (tokoro)
This necklace, known as tokoro, is the oldest known jewelry style in Senegal. Characterized by its adaptability and a notable longevity, it begins as a simple, single string of two or more gold beads that can easily be added to as a woman progresses through life. A tokoro is thus a mutually recognizable and ubiquitous vehicle for communicating information about a woman’s history and experiences—experiences that are often shared with other women.
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By the North Carolina Museum of Art