Pair of Earrings (Crosses of Agadez)
MediumSilver
Dimensions3 × 2 1/4 inches (7.6 × 5.7 cm)
CultureTuareg (Western Sahara and Northwestern Sudan)
ClassificationsMetalwork
Credit LineGift of Amyas Naegele, Class of 1978
Terms
- Metalwork
- Tuareg
Object number99.092.024 a,b
Label CopyBRIEF DESCRIPTION
These Tuareg earrings are named after a place associated with this particular shape of cross.
WHERE WAS IT MADE?
Until very recently, Tuareg peoples lived a nomadic lifestyle, trading and raising cattle around the western Sahara and northwestern Sudan.
HOW WAS IT MADE?
Blacksmiths make all silver jewelry and leatherwork among the Tuareg. Regarded by the class-based Tuareg as racially and culturally inferior, members of the blacksmith caste nevertheless hold some power in the community. The Tuareg, along with many other African cultural groups, believe that blacksmiths have mystical powers and a special relationship to the elements that allow them to work with fire and earth (metals). With these powers they enjoy special privileges and a certain esteem in the community, but are not regarded by the Tuareg as equals.
HOW WAS IT USED?
As a result of their itinerant way of life, Tuareg wealth and arts must be movable. Wealth is concentrated in cattle and jewelry, such as these earrings. Other arts valued among the Tuareg such as poetry, music, and dance, create no material culture that must be carried.
WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS?
Most Tuareg material culture is symmetrical and non-symbolic. Much speculation has surrounded the significance of the cross in Tuareg jewelry; it is the most common motif in jewelry and other material culture. Some scholars have suggested early Christian influence, but little evidence exists to support this theory. Tuareg people today do not claim that the form has religious significance.
To see other pairs of Tuareg earrings in the Johnson Museum’s collection, search for object numbers 99.092.028 a,b and 99.092.030 in the keyword search box.
Collections
mid 20th century
mid-20th century
