Dogon Pendant Depicting Grasshopper on a Leaf

A grasshopper has found a good leaf and is not moving.

This pendant depicting a grasshopper on a leaf is Dogon, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century, in forged metal. Insects and small animals turn up often in West African brass and bronze ornaments, and in Dogon thought many creatures carry associations that vary from one account to another. The grasshopper has a rounded head, curled antennae and folded wings, its long rear legs bent high. It stands on a pointed leaf notched along its edge, with a loop for hanging at the stem end. Dark patina flecked with green covers the surface. It is 3.5 inches wide and 1.5 high.

Very still for a grasshopper, which is a credit to the smith.