Ring Depicting a Chameleon

SenufoWW-1800-142576

1800·Copper alloy·4.8 × 4.3 × 2.9 cm (1 7/8 × 1 11/16 × 1 1/8 in.)

<p>Small cast copper-alloy ornaments are made across West Africa within the arc of the great Niger River. Brass or bronze casting has powerful associations with the supernatural because, like ironworking, it is a highly specialized process that uses fire to transform a raw material into a form that is useful and meaningful to humans. For the Senufo, copper-alloy ornaments are pleasing to the eye and offer protection by representing and honoring nature spirits.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1800
Medium: Copper alloy
Dimensions: 4.8 × 4.3 × 2.9 cm (1 7/8 × 1 11/16 × 1 1/8 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Senufo

Artist

Senufo

The Senufo or Senufic languages comprise around 15 languages spoken by the Senufo in the north of Ivory Coast, the south of Mali and the southwest of Burkina Faso. An isolated language, Nafaanra, is also spoken in the west of Ghana. The Senufo languages constitute their own branch of the Atlantic–Congo sub-family of the Niger–Congo languages. Anne Garber estimates the total number of Senufos at some 1.5 million; the Ethnologue, based on various population estimates, counts 2.7 million.

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