Necklace with a Bayou Classic pendant: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The necklace has a gold-colored string with gold-colored spherical plastic beads strung along it. There is a gold-colored metal ring at the bottom. There is a painted ceramic pendant attached to the metal ring. The pendant is red on the top and black at the bottom. It has white text which reads [BAYOU CLASSIC / GRAMBLING SOUTHERN]. There is a gold fleur-de-lis in between “Grambling” and “Southern”. The center of the circle is white, with a blue silhouette of the state of Louisiana. There is a color depiction of the faces of a tiger and a jaguar biting the ends of a football. The tiger is on the proper right side and the jaguar is on the proper left side. There is yellow text in the center of the football. It reads [SINCE / 1974]. There is a black “TM” under the jaguar head.

The back of the pendant is white and has a few small holes on it. There are several marks and scratches in different areas of the necklace.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1974-2015
• Distributed by: Bayou Classic, founded 1974
• Subject of: Grambling State University, American, founded 1901
• Subject of: Southern University and A&M College, American, founded 1880
• Type: pendants (architectural ornaments)
• Type: necklaces
• Medium: string, plastic beads, metal, ceramic and ceramic products, and paint
• Dimensions: H x W: 19 × 3 in. (48.3 × 7.6 cm)
• Place depicted: Grambling, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Football
• Topic: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
• Topic: Sports
• Object number: 2015.75.11
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dottie Belletto
• 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: Permission required for use Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.