Necklace pendant worn by Baba Chuck: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A large necklace pendant attached to a lanyard (A2018.98.1.2.2) worn by dancer Charles Rudolph Davis, also known as Baba Chuck. The pendant is comprised of two (2) pieces: a large spoon shaped piece and a squat column shaped piece. The large spoon shaped piece has a roughly oval shaped body that narrows at the shoulders of the spoon to a rounded off point at the top. The point at the top is decorated with a molded floral pattern: two (2) five (5) petal flowers and a rose. The top of the spoon pendant has a small hole that is threaded through with a jump ring, attached to a teardrop shaped bail. The body of the spoon pendant is polished silver with cutouts shaped like Africa and Madagascar. The name [BabaChuck], in silver, runs across the top half of the Africa cut out. There are two (2) small round perforations at the bottom of the spoon pendant where it is attached it to the squat column shaped piece with three (3) jump rings on each side. The squat column shaped piece has an ovular cutout in the middle with a depiction of a stylized dancer, depicted in full length profile. The back of the pendant is undecorated.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: late 20th-early 21st century
• Designed by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Charles Rudolph Davis, American, 1937 - 2017
• Type: pendants (jewelry)
• Medium: sterling silver
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Overal with lanyard): 23 5/8 × 3 1/4 × 7/16 in. (60 × 8.3 × 1.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Pendant): 7 1/4 × 3 1/4 × 5/16 in. (18.4 × 8.3 × 0.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (A2018.98.1.2 (necklace in curled display position)): 9 × 7 × 3/4 in. (22.9 × 17.8 × 1.9 cm)
• Place used: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Africa
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Identity
• Topic: Modern dance
• Topic: Ornamentation
• Object number: A2018.98.1.2.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Ngoma & Normadien Woolbright in memory of Dr. Chuck Davis
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.