Silverplate necklace designed by Winifred Mason Chenet: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver-plated pewter necklace designed by Winifred Mason Chenet. Thirteen silver pendants are linked by circular chain and joined together by a hook clasp. The top of each pendant has a circle attached on each horizontal edge and a piece of silver is hooked on each circle creating a scroll design. The pendant design symbolizes a Haitian drum. The top of the pendant represents the skin used on the top of a drum that is tied to the wooden body with a rope. Underneath the rope design, the drum skin is gathered and folded over itself. On the body of the drum is an upraised circular design. The bottom of the drum is represented by two stacked circles on top of each other to show how the drum narrows at the bottom to a ridged column. The back of seven of the pendants contain the designer's signature [chenet d'HAITI] with varying levels of legibility based on fading.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1951-1963
• Created by: Winifred Mason Chenet, American, 1912 - 1993
• Type: jewelry
• Medium: silver-plated pewter
• Dimensions: H x W x D (clasped closed): 7 1/2 × 7 1/2 × 3/16 in. (19 × 19 × 0.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (layed flat): 1 9/16 × 16 1/8 × 3/16 in. (4 × 41 × 0.5 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Cultural Place: Haiti, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Art
• Topic: Craftsmanship
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Folklife
• Topic: Music
• Object number: 2018.4.2.1
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.