Tukano. <em>Charm Necklace</em>, mid–20th century. Palm nut, seeds, plant fiber, 6 1/4 × 3/4 × 8 1/4 in. (15.9 × 1.9 × 21 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of E.R. Squibb and Sons, 61.89. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 61.89_acetate_bw.jpg)

Tukano. Charm Necklace, mid–20th century. Palm nut, seeds, plant fiber, 6 1/4 × 3/4 × 8 1/4 in. (15.9 × 1.9 × 21 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of E.R. Squibb and Sons, 61.89. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 61.89_acetate_bw.jpg)

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Why are three pieces of Alaskan art paired with a piece from Brazil?

Great question! The installation is by theme and use rather than country of origin.

What is the theme for this case?

The theme is talismans and charms. The necklaces may have been worn by a shaman or medicine man. Images of animals on the Tukano necklace from Brazil acknowledges the important relationship between humans and animals. All three pieces are made from natural materials found within these specific regions.

There is a case of musical instruments from different countries nearby that keeps with the concept of themes within the exhibition.

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Charm Necklace

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.

CULTURE Tukano

MEDIUM Palm nut, seeds, plant fiber

Place Made: Amazon, Brazil

DATES mid–20th century

DIMENSIONS 6 1/4 × 3/4 × 8 1/4 in. (15.9 × 1.9 × 21 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 61.89

CREDIT LINE Gift of E.R. Squibb and Sons

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Necklace decorated with animal- and human-figurine beads separated by black seed beads. The animals consist of 5 frogs, 3 beetles, 2 lizards, 1 turtle, 1 winged insect (cicada?), and 1 bird. There are two human figurines carved out of an orange-brown material. The winged insect and bird beads are carved out of the same material; all the other animals are carved out of black coconut shell. The beads are strung onto a plant-fiber cord. Condition: good; some of the small seed beads are broken or are breaking.

EXHIBITIONS

Climate in Crisis: Environmental Change in the Indigenous Americas

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Tukano. Charm Necklace, mid–20th century. Palm nut, seeds, plant fiber, 6 1/4 × 3/4 × 8 1/4 in. (15.9 × 1.9 × 21 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of E.R. Squibb and Sons, 61.89. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 61.89_acetate_bw.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 61.89_acetate_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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