About this work
Silver-alloy necklace made in Ethiopia in the late 1800s or early 1900s, strung with an abundance of phallic beads representing fertility framed by dozens of smaller silver beads.
Original catalogue wording
Silver-alloy necklace made in Ethiopia in the late 1800s or early 1900s, strung with an abundance of phallic beads representing fertility framed by dozens of smaller silver beads. Specialist smiths melted silver into small balls that were attached to drawn rods of metal, topping each bead with a pile of tiny, grain-like granulations.
Source classification: silver bead necklace
- Date
- late 1800s or early 1900s
- Object type
- Jewellery & adornment
- Recorded place
- Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, unknown silversmith
- Holding institution
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession
- 2025.153