Dance rattle: Museum Object and Cultural History
Dance rattle: Date: 19th or 20th century. Created by: Unidentified. Type: rattles.
The object in the museum catalogue
A wrought-iron dance rattle of the type used in West Africa, possibly a Yoruban rattle called an 'iku,' worn around the ankle during dances. The iron rattle is a skeuomorph of a seed-pod rattle, with three iron clappers inside each "pod" found on either side of a center oval opening. There are a pair of iron rings hanging from a loop at each end of the rattle to provide additional noise.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: 19th or 20th century
- Created by: Unidentified
- Type: rattles
- Type: musical instruments
- Medium: Iron
- Dimensions: H x W: 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (12 x 16.5 cm)
- Cultural Place: West Africa, Africa
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Africa
- Topic: Dance
- Topic: Music
- Object number: 2008.10.10
- Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
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