Prayer-String Necklace

Arts of Africa

Early 20th century

Tekna
Laayoune, Western Sahara
Northern Africa and the Sahel

Artists among the Tekna people and Moors in Northern Africa create silver jewelry in bold forms that stand in stark contrast with the region’s arid environment. Objects from Guelmim in Morocco usually include deeply etched geometric patterns, and are adorned with raised beads or projecting studs. Those from Boutilimit in Mauritania feature large square plates delicately etched with meandering motifs.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Tekna
Title: Prayer-String Necklace
Place: Morocco (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1900–1940
Medium: Wood, silver, copper, amber, silk, and carnelian
Dimensions: H.: 152 cm (59 7/8 in.)
Credit Line: Alsdorf Foundation - James and Marilynn Alsdorf Acquisition Fund
Reference Number: 2009.575

Kathleen Bickford Berzock, editor. 2019. Caravans of Gold: Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa. Exh. cat. Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University with Princeton University Press.

Evanston, Ill., Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa, Jan. 26–July 21, 2019, cat. pg. 35, fig. 1.14; traveled to Toronto, the Aga Khan Museum, Sept. 21, 2019–Feb. 23, 2020; and Washington, D.C., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, July 16, 2021-Feb. 27, 2022 (previously Apr. 8–Nov. 29, 2020 but postponed by pandemic).

Unnamed dealer, Tiznit, Morocco, before 2009; sold to Ivo Grammet, Essaouira, Morocco, before 2009 [purchased in Guelmim, Morocco, documentation in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute, 2009.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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