Charm Necklace
mid-20th century
Tukano
Arts of the Americas
Among the Tucano of the northwestern Amazon basin, stories abound of people turning into animals to learn about their habits and of animals teaching people how to use certain resources in the natural world. Shamanic knowledge contains detailed descriptions of these encounters, and many shamans claim that animals have revealed to them an unexpected food source or the cure for an illness. This necklace of finely carved animal and human forms may have been worn by a shaman to acknowledge such a relationship.
- Maker/Artist
- Tukano
- Classification
- Ornament
- Formatted Medium
- Palm nut, seeds, plant fiber
- Locations
- Place made: Amazon, Brazil
- Dimensions
- 6 1/4 × 3/4 × 8 1/4 in. (15.9 × 1.9 × 21 cm)
- Departments
- Arts of the Americas
- Accession Number
- 61.89
- Credit Line
- Gift of E.R. Squibb and Sons
- Rights Statement
- Creative Commons-BY
- Museum Location
- Arts of the Americas Galleries, 5th Floor
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