Gan Bronze Pendant: Depiction of Coiled Serpent

A slim, ringed lozenge on a long stem with a curved beaklike foot, like a tiny totem.

This pendant depicting a coiled serpent is Gan, from Burkina Faso, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is bronze. Serpents appear in the art and thought of many West African peoples, and a coiled snake is a compact shape well suited to a small cast pendant. A long piece with an oval top covered in concentric ridge lines, a pinched waist, and a narrow stem ending in a curved head with small eyes. A loop crowns the top. The surface is dark and dull with fine incised marks. It is 1.25 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 4.25 high.

A long, ridged shape that is rather pleased to be one.