1

Symbolism and significance of bronze rhomboid beads/pendants from Jenn and the Inland Niger Delta, Mali.
Lloyd D. Graham Introduction The subject of this research essay is the set of hollow bronze rhomboid (i.e., lozenge or diamond-shaped) objects that have been recovered during excavations, official and otherwise, in the Inland Niger Delta region of Mali, West Africa. These items were cast from bronze or more likely brass1 using the cire perdue or lost-wax technique.2 While not especially rare, this type of object is seldom described in the academic or popular literature, perhaps because their enigmatic nature makes them difficult to assign to a recognized category; they have been variously described by archaeologists, traders and auction houses as beads, pendants, amulets, and even belt finery. There is, however, general agreement that they are Djenn (Jenn) in style and origin, by which is usually meant the ancient city of Jenn-jeno and its hinterland, so the objects will be referred to in this essay by the term Jenn bronze rhomboids.

Fig. 1. Jenn bronze rhomboids. Major (i.e. hollow) axis dimensions are a, 8.5 cm; b, 9.2 cm; c, 10.5 cm; d, 11.7 cm; e, 9.8 cm; f, 8.8 cm. Some carry parallel scarification lines on the reverse. Images used with permission of David Spetka, Niger Bend, www.nigerbend.com

Fig. 2. Jenn bronze rhomboids. Major axis dimensions are a, 8.3 cm; b, 7.6 cm; c, 9.8 cm; d, 10.9 cm; e, 8.0 cm; f, 7.7 cm. Images used with permission of Jan Rinzema.

One of the few publications containing an image and description of a Jenn bronze rhomboid is Andr Blandins definitive Afrique de lOuest Bronzes et Autres Alliages. The caption of the monochrome figure describes the object as a large flattened pendant bead, with in the centre a tablet decorated with undulations, symbolizing water. Green archaeological patina.3 The figure illustrates a section whose text focuses on the early excavations of Florentin (1896) and Desplagnes (1901 & 1904) at tumuli (burial mounds) in the north of the Inland Niger Delta, near Goundam. Eugenia Herbert notes in her book Red Gold of Africa Copper in Pre-Colonial History and Culture that The tumuli of the Lower Senegal and Saloum valleys have also yielded a variety of copper objects, particularly rings and bracelets, but also more enigmatic conical and lozenge-shaped pieces whose use was probably ornamental.4 Another publication to show examples of the rhomboids is collector Marc Ginzbergs book African Forms. This contains a colour photograph of two bronze rhomboids (alongside a T-shaped bronze pendant from the same culture) with the caption These bronze Djenne pendants are hundreds of years old; an attractive

Fig. 3. Jenn bronze rhomboids. Major (i.e., hollow) axis dimensions are a, 6.7 cm; b, 6.6 cm; c, 10.0 cm; d, 7.5 cm (incomplete); e, 5.8 cm.

feature is their archaeological patina. The diamond-shaped ones, which are quite common, all have similar sinuous designs representing snakes. [] We may never learn what significance they had for their wearers or how exactly they were used.5 The purpose of the present essay is to explore some of the possibilities attending these ambiguous objects. A selection of Jenn bronze rhomboids that have not been published in print is shown in Figs. 1-3. In size, the major axis (which, in this article, always denotes the hollow one) ranges from 5.8 cm to 11.7 cm. There is a striking similarity in the shape and ornamentation of the objects: in outline, they are angular or curvilinear rhomboids; each is flattened, with a hollow interior open at the two ends of the major axis; each has closed projections (arms, wings or tips) at the two ends of the minor axis. In the centre of one face only, the rhomboids contain an enclosed rectangular or oval area a cartouche in which are found the main decorative motifs: serpentine wavy lines, wheat-sheaf/twist patterns; spirals; raised circular studs or buttons, and the like. The patina may range from a minimal layer

4 of brown copper oxide (Fig. 2c & 3c) to a heavily mineralised cloak of blue/green copper salts (Fig. 3a). West African metal jewelry Throughout the middle ages African gold was routinely traded for copper, and it was alloys of the latter that were principally buried with local chiefs and nobles.6 Grave goods tended to be the same as status indicators above ground: copper, brass, and iron rings of all sorts and sizes; weapons and staffs; crowns, bells.7 As a red metal, copper carries the manifold connotations of blood: sacrifice, execution, war on the one hand; fertility and vitality on the other. It marks the transition from child to adult, from adult to ancestor.8 Brass replaced bronze as the working metal in the second millennium,9 but bronze was retained as a particularly sacred metal by peoples of the region.10 Cire perdue remained a technique of the disbelievers, strongly linked with pre-Islamic beliefs.11 The role of jewelry in West African society is summarized well by the Heil-brunn Timeline of Art History at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:12
In West Africa, jewelry is worn for multiple purposes beyond mere adornment. It can be used to indicate one's role in society, as having a particular profession or rank, as well as to indicate belonging to a specific family, clan, or village. A form of wealth, it is also intrinsically valuable and therefore worn by itinerants who must travel with all their worldly possessions. Often there are particular recognizable motifs worn by women who have had children, thus indicating the wearer's successful completion of her fundamental role in society. Jewelry among contemporary Mande peoples is often commissioned by patrons in response to the advice of a diviner. Like other amulets made by smiths, the jewelry is embedded with spiritual power and is intended to assist the wearer with specific concerns, for example, to increase fertility, to deter accidents, for financial gain, to cure or prevent diseases, to inspire love, and so on. Metal is believed to naturally contain high levels of nyama, or life forces, and is therefore particularly powerful in the production of medicinal amulets.

In the case of the bronze rhomboids, the consistency in their overall shape, the placement and style of the cartouche, the nature of the design motifs therein, etc., all suggest a codified and potentially amuletic function rather than a purely decorative one. When similar design motifs are found on more conventional adornments (e.g., bracelets) from the same period/region, there is much greater freedom in their placement on the object.13 On the basis of art, language and cultural practices, the Dogon are thought to derive from the original inhabitants of the Inland Niger Delta. In particular, Bernard de Grunne has identified Dogon bronze figurines as successors to the famous Jenn terracottas of the 13th-15th centuries CE,14 leading others to speak of a Jenn-Dogon culture in the 15th-17th centuries CE.15 An echo of the original significance of the Jenn bronze rhomboids may therefore be preserved in current attitudes of the Dogon to such items. Fisher Nesmith writes that the miniature

5 bronzes of the Dogon [] are no less sacred than the traditional sculptures in wood, iron, or stone.16 Griaule and colleagues found that the mythic structure of the Dogon was all-encompassing and that even the smallest everyday object may reveal in its form or decoration a conscious reflection of a complex cosmogony, such that a seemingly simple object like a stone and iron pendant can be associated with complex beliefs concerning the creation of the universe and mankind.17 Particularly relevant to the minimalism of the bronze rhomboids are John Richardsons words on Dogon iconography:18
Stylization so austere as this is consistent with a society where abstract conceptualization is taken for granted and in which it is possible for the community to conceive of all things in terms of intellectual categories and symbolic interconnections. Such a capacity is the basis of all civilization and has been behind every important material advance humanity has made.

Location and source Despite the assignation of the bronze rhomboids as Djenn, there has been (to my knowledge) no documented discovery of such an item at Jenn-jeno.19 Blandins picture of a rhomboid illustrates a text section describing excavations at or near tumuli in the north of the Inland Niger Delta, namely at Tendirma, Killi and elOualadji. He mentions that the finds from the latter two were deposited by Desplagnes in the Muse de lHomme, where in 1970 they became the subject of a sparingly illustrated publication, in which objects of copper or bronze were essentially represented by bracelets, rings, earrings and several pendants, of which certain are identical to objects that made their appearance on the market in recent years. Invariably one finds in this collection no human or equestrian figurines.20 While the reference to several copper/bronze pendants sounds promising, the 1970 Muse de lHomme catalog Archologie Malienne Collections Desplagnes does not contain any descriptions or drawings of bronze rhomboids.21 Nor, for that matter, do Szumowskis more recent reports of funerary and other excavations in the Inland Niger Delta at Fatima22 and Kami,23 both near Mopti, although bronze/copper items were found at both sites. Despite the absence of bronze rhomboids in the Desplagnes catalog, Blandins inclusion of a bronze rhomboid with his description of those early excavations suggests that such items are consistent with objects retrieved from burial mounds in the north of the Inland Niger Delta. The findspot for the rhomboid in Fig. 3c is thought to be in the vicinity of Timbuktu, which is also at the northern extreme of the Inland Niger Delta. Even this far north the civilization can be considered Jenn, in that Timbuctoo [] could hardly be said to exist until the merchants of Jenne settled there [] and in this way Jenne, although she did not actually create, undoubtedly founded Timbuctoo, for she was the means of transforming the poor hamlet into a great commercial centre of universal renown. The Sudanese24 express this idea in their saying Jenne and Timbuctoo are two halves of the same city.25 Certainly, the term Djenn is used by arts and antiquities

6 traders to mean the entire Inland Niger Delta and some neighbouring areas, including the Bandiagara escarpment of the Dogon.26 Bronze bracelets bearing the same design motifs as the rhomboids are sometimes identified as originating in the Guimbala culture,27 which is closely linked to that of Jenn-jeno although its artifacts extend to the 19th century CE. The Guimbala region lies north-east of Lake Debo;28 it comprises the western cliffs of the Bandiagara escarpment and includes the Dogon village of Songo.29 Orientation bead or pendant? The hollow major axis of the bronze rhomboids can easily accommodate a suspension cord, allowing either a landscape horizontal orientation (as in a bead) or a portrait vertical orientation (as a pendant, either alone or on a thong dropped from a circular necklace). It is possible that both orientations were used, with smaller rhomboids perhaps more likely to be used as beads and larger ones as pendants. For example, the nine buttons that decorate Fig. 3e occupy the same U-shaped configuration as the spirals on a striking seven-spiral Jenn pendant (Fig. 4), and to obtain the same vertical (and thus symmetrical) presentation of the motif this very small rhomboid has to be strung horizontally. Indeed, the figurative and abstract serpentine
Fig. 4. Seven-spiral Jenn pendant Niger Bend, www.nigerbend.com

ornamentation on Jenn/Dogon terracottas and bronzes typically runs vertically (e.g. along the length of the human torso, or up the sides of a globular pot), and a matching orientation for the ornamentation on a bronze rhomboid would most often be obtained by wearing the object horizontally as a bead (see ahead to Table 1). If nothing else, the projecting arms at least serve the utilitarian purpose of hindering rotation about the major axis, thereby ensuring that the unornamented side is always concealed against the chest of the wearer. A vertical orientation for the larger rhomboids is supported by the fact that most Jenn/Dogon terracotta30 and bronze statues31 of human figures adorned with cruciform or diamond-shaped pendants have them suspended with the long axis vertical rather than horizontal. Oddly enough, there appear to be no instances of a terracotta or metal figure, ancient or modern, in which the person wears a pendant/bead with the distinctive winged shape of the Jenn bronze rhomboids. Another argument in favour of a vertical orientation is that the original referent of the lozenge as a symbol of female fertility (discussed below in the section Prehistoric referents) has the long axis vertical. It is perhaps worth pointing out that a necklace comprised of numerous rhomboids will cover both orientations, in that the beads lowest on the breast will be near-horizontal while those close to the neck will be almost vertical.

7 The lack of a distinct suspension hoop, common to most cruciform or diamondshaped pendants, raises the slight possibility that the pendants were originally made as grave-goods, intended simply to be laid upon the deceased and buried with the body. The ritual removal of suspension loops from pendants worn in life has been documented in association with Dogon burials,32 and many small Jenn bronzes, including pendants, accompany ancient human burials in the region.33 Suspension via the hollow of the major axis is the only option for wearing the bronze rhomboids in life. Several specimens do contain remnants of thick cottonlike cloth or of rope fibres that appear to pass through the central hollow, suggesting that these objects really were worn at some point, although not necessarily by members of the culture that made them. The rhomboid of Fig. 3b provides a curious counter-example to the concept of suspension via the central axis. Each of the open ends of this rhomboid was plugged with what looked like a cross-section of the same multi-stranded whitish rope (Fig. 5a), suggesting that a suspension cord still threaded through the hollow interior, but when the fibres were removed (to allow the treatment of an outbreak of bronze disease) it became clear that this was not the case: each aperture had been separately plugged with about 30 short 2-ply twists of white fibre, each twist loosely coiled (thick) at the opening but more and more tightly wound (thinner) towards the interior (Fig. 5b). None of the fibres actually passed through the centre of the object, despite this being quite feasible. While the fibres were brittle and

Fig. 5. End-plug and the contents of the rhomboid in Fig. 3b. Several tapering spiral twists have been labelled with colour-coded lettering to indicate their polarity: E, exterior terminal; I, interior terminal.

8 had a green discoloration from mineralisation with copper salts, they were much better preserved than the brown remnants of suspension materials glimpsed within other rhomboids (Fig. 3a,e), whose cords appear to have petrified to a wood-like consistency; it was not evident from the fragments whether these once passed completely through the rhomboids. From the good state of preservation of the fibres, it is quite possible that the disconnected plugs shown in Fig. 5 were a relatively late addition to this bronze. Dating from the style alone is not possible: such tapering twists of fibre have been used in Mali from at least the 12th century CE up to modern times.34 It should, however, be possible to undertake AMS radiocarbon dating of these and the other fibre samples to establish minimum ages for the various rhomboids (see ahead to Age). Possible Tuareg parallels In overall shape, the bronze rhomboids somewhat resemble Tuareg tcherot that have been rotated by 45 degrees. The tcherot is an amuletic case, usually made from silver but often incorporating additional materials such as leather and/or other metals.35 It is typically worn around the neck, squarely suspended by two of its four points (Fig. 6), and is designed to contain Quranic verses and magical formulae that protect the wearer against evil. Tuareg wedding necklaces have pendants of essentially the same shape that are suspended from just one of their four points; they therefore hang as a curvilinear cruciform shape or lozenge.36
Fig. 6. Sketch of a tcherot.

The bronze rhomboids are also reminiscent of the silver four-pointed Agadez crosses of the Tuareg (e.g., Fig. 7) , which date from the 11-12th centuries CE.37 The shape of these ornaments, which are worn by both men and women of the southern Tuareg,38 is usually taken to symbolise the four directions of the world.39 The crosses may embody a pre-Islamic magical power, invoking either fertility40 or protection against evil spirits. Of the former, more will be said below (see Prehistoric referents). In the latter interpretation, the four termini of the amulet are seen as neutralizing any malign influences by dispersing them to the four corners of the world.41 The cruciform portions of the Tuareg crosses, like the Jenn rhomboids in their entirety, are similar in outline to the trefoil crosses (moqdad or walata-idje) of Mauritanian origin that are common throughout Morocco, the Sudan
Fig. 7. Tuareg cross. Niger Bend, www.nigerbend.com

9 and the Sahel. Raymond Mauny writes:42 These pendants consist essentially of a body, diverse in form but usually a star or lozenge, bearing at each of its three lower points one or a set of three cabochons; suspension is achieved by a lateral widening of the upper flange. While Jean Gabus sees the trefoil design as a talismanic eye designed to deflect the evil eye, Mauny maintains that the Mauritanians view these crosses merely as decoration.43 By way of a final example from the Tuareg, we can mention that nobles in the Air region of Niger are reported to wear the severed head of a reptile, the monitor lizard (Varanus sp.), suspended vertically as a pendant. The lozenge-shaped head is believed to possess amuletic powers against snake-bite and scorpion sting.44 This observation leads nicely into the next aspect of our discussion, which deals with the likelihood that the Jenn bronze rhomboids are zoomorphic symbols with reptilian referents. Zoomorphism In the cultures of Mali, ziz-zags, rhomboids, regular serrations, etc. are all thought to be stylized serpent motifs. A series of rhomboids or lozenge shapes is certainly obtained by running two ziz-zags side-by-side. Snakes adorn many of the human and other figures in Jenn terracotta statues from the 13th-15th centuries CE, to the extent that the vitality of a local serpent cult is obvious,45 despite the strong contemporary influence of Islam in the region.46 More will be said of this cult below (see Ornamentation). Many Jenn terracotta and Dogon bronze figures show one or more snakes on the body, often on the chest and abdomen. In some cases they are partially stylized into linear serpentine motifs,47 a transition that is fully complete in the cartouches of the rhomboids. From the foregoing, it seems that both the outline of the bronze rhomboids and the serpentine lines in the cartouche are almost certainly references to snakes. Indeed, the overall shape amounts to stylized snake-head seen from above, with the eyes set as stalks. This is just a slight embellishment on ancient stylized forms, such as can be seen in silver bracelets from the Ptolemaic period (3-4th centuries BCE) (Fig. 8) and in Roman ones from the early centuries CE.48

Fig. 8. Silver bracelet, Ptolemaic Egypt (3-4th centuries BCE). Image used with permission of Malter Galleries, www.maltergalleries.com

10 Juxtaposed snake-head terminals are also found amongst Akan goldweights. In this repertoire we also find pairs of animals, often crocodiles, whose bodies overlapping at right-angles have been fused to give rhomboid forms that sport two heads and two tails.49 Another zoomorphic source for a curvilinear rhomboid is given below in Prehistoric referents. The organic verisimilitude of the bronze rhomboids extends beyond the world of schematized reptiles. While almost certainly coincidental, the flattened tubular lozenge shape of the rhomboids mimics closely the body form of another animal entirely: the triggerfish (Fig. 9), a tropical reef fish that is in fact represented in West African waters.50

Fig. 9. Clown triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum). Image used with permission of www.copyright-freepictures.org.uk

Anthropomorphism Mounted or suspended vertically, the Jenn bronze rhomboids also suggest another classical referent: the human form. In this context, the cartouche serves as stylized amulet on the chest. In Irish medieval metalwork there is a class of cloakfasteners known as kite-brooches, which have a rhomboid shape with a head at the end of the long axis. While this ornament is usually an animal head, the most spectacular example of these brooches the Waterford kite-brooch (Fig. 10), which dates from the 11-12th centuries CE uses a human mask at the terminal.51 It thereby provides an admirable demonstration of the anthropomorphic potential of rhomboid jewellery.
Fig. 10. Waterford kite-brooch. Image used with permission of Waterford Museum of Treasures.

It is possible to see the rhomboid as an icon of the human form in many Jenn terracottas of the 13th-15th centuries CE, where broad-shouldered individuals are in kneeling postures with heads tilted back and knees close together. In terms of figurine poses, there is actually little precedent for the arms of the bronze rhomboids representing outstretched arms or bent elbows, but the projections

11 could well correspond to shoulders.52 The ambivalence is extensive; in view of many terracottas showing Amma suckling nommo twins they might even be breasts, or the heads of the two babies.53 In general, people of our time are inclined to present the rhomboids in a vertical or portrait orientation (Table 1), perhaps because of the intrinsic anthropomorphism of this pose. Thus a modern jewellery designer, making a bead necklace that included a single Jenn rhomboid as the main feature, strung it not (horizontally) at the centre of the chest but higher up, so that it would have a near-vertical presentation in the lapel region.54 Likewise, in a contemporary sculpture project the rhomboids of Fig. 3 have been mounted on vertical shafts and configured in the style of a crucifixion group (Fig. 11).55

Fig. 11. The Affliction of Djenn. Lloyd D. Graham, www.lloydg.deviantart.com

It is possible that the Jenn bronze rhomboids originated partly in response to the Islamic discouragement of figurative art. If the rhomboids are indeed stylized human figures, then wearing them horizontally as beads further conceals the reference perhaps a development that gained popularity as discouragement intensified into prohibition. Even in horizontal presentation the rhomboids do retain a slight anthropomorphic connotation, in that they suggest a babe-in-arms. Procreative symbolism of this kind would of course befit a

12 fertility amulet, and we shall see below that there are many reasons to suspect such a function for these objects (see Prehistoric referents). Ornamentation style and symbolism Before we delve into individual motifs and their significance, it is worth remarking the penchant for slight but deliberate asymmetry in details of the ornamentation. For example, in Fig 2b the two left-hand pairs of spirals consist of anti-clockwise turns whereas the right-hand pair consists of clockwise ones (Fig. 12a). Likewise, in Fig. 3c the top three wheat-sheaf braids run right to left, while the bottom one runs the opposite way (Fig. 12b).

Fig. 12. Details of ornamentation on rhomboids in a, Fig. 3b (during restoration)56 and b, Fig. 3c.

We have already seen that both the outline of the bronze rhomboids and the undulating lines contained in the cartouche are almost certainly references to snakes. In the rest of this section, we shall see that the same is true for other design motifs commonly found in the cartouche. It is therefore worth pausing to consider the significance of snakes as cult objects. The cult of the serpent is probably the most widespread mythology known to humanity. Seemingly immortal, a snake can shed its own skin, freeing itself from past injuries and rejuvenating itself without pain; on this basis, the snake is often taken to symbolize rebirth and life after death.57 Featuring centrally in most of the Pharaonic crowns of ancient Egypt, the serpent has been associated with royalty and power since the earliest times. Many of the famous 13th-15th century CE Jenn terracottas depict human forms entwined with or even penetrated by snakes, and the ancient association of this reptile with royal power is still strong in the belief systems of the Dogon and their neighbours. Bernard De Grunne paraphrases his informants as follows:58
Human figures portrayed with snakes represented very important people kings, queens, or chiefs who commanded snakes. [] Informants equated snakes with kings: both were powerful and feared, and in some cases the king was even considered to be a snake. [] The queen wore a live snake around her head as a

13
turban in order to reinforce her authority; on the occasion of a human sacrifice, her turban would be a live Naja. She also wore it when her people went to war, removing it only when they returned. [] Deserters were killed by snakes. The snakes would put their tails in the victim's nostrils, ears, and mouth, thus suffocating him. In fact, a few statues show snakes emanating from the nostrils and mouth of a human figure. Ligers also reported that the king's powerful protector was the black Naja. This snake fed only on human flesh. If the Naja abandoned him, the king would lose his power, and it was therefore kept in a special sanctuary [] The Sorogo consider the black Naja to be the most intelligent creature on earth.

Apart from entwinement with snakes, the other striking feature of Jenn-jeno terracotta statues is the predominance of nodules on the skin of many of the figures.59 Several commentators have suggested that these pustules may refer to the dermal oedemas associated with nematode infections, making it possible that the snakes adorning the terracottas actually symbolise the invasive threadlike worms of this ghastly disease.60 Such an interpretation would be consistent with the many figural poses in the terracotta repertoire that appear to convey sickness, pain and anguish.61 On some statues, though, the nodules have been organised into regular arrays;62 one must wonder, then, if the round studs demarcating the cartouches in Figs. 1a,d,e,f and Fig. 3c, and the array of buttons decorating Fig. 3e, do not carry an echo of these nodules, just as the serpentine decorations surely carry a reference to snakes.
Serpentine lines

Serpentine meanders feature in the cartouches of Figs. 1a,c-f; Figs. 2a-f, and Figs. 3c,d. As we have already seen, the undulating lines are most easily interpreted as symbolizing snakes.63 But this is not by any means the end of the story. According to Nesmith, The zigzag line (which this author exemplifies by an erratic serpentine meander as well as sharp angular zigzags) is a conventional symbol for vibration in Dogon iconography.64 Elsewhere, John Richardson elaborates:65
[T]he spiral configuration is conceived as describing a path through space that is comprehensive, its vibrations carrying it upward and then down as the rotation proceeds outward; this movement, represented as a zigzag line on shrines, stands for the perpetual alternation of paired opposites in reality: right versus left, light versus dark, male versus female, and so on. [ A particular statue] is covered with sets of parallel grooves that intersect other sets on shifting diagonals. Actually, these are zigzags in opposition to one another. As we noted earlier, the zigzag pattern symbolizes the perpetual helicoidal movement and the conservation of matter. It implies the alternation of opposites and, inevitably, the principle of twinness. The torso is segmented by the diagonals into diamondshaped zones. There are four complete diamonds on each side of the figure and three on the front; again, the echo of twin souls, male (= 3) and female (= 4). This diamond shape occurs again and again.

Clearly the various motifs and shapes are all interconnected, making separate discussions rather difficult. Spirals will be dealt with again in their own sub-

14 section, while Dogon numerology, and the deeper symbolism of the diamondshaped rhomboid, are elaborated upon later (see Prehistoric referents). In an account of Lobi sorcery, Piet Myer mentions sacrificial drawings in which The wavy lines (gongolo) visualize the art by which witches and sorcerers move, which is literally in crooked ways.66 In order to stop these mischiefmakers, they have to be attacked in wavy lines, for example through these drawings. Thus Iron posts, bracelets and amulets as well as pots ornamented with a wavy line, fulfil here anti-witch and anti-sorcery functions.67 Although Blandin may seem to be alone in proposing that the wavy lines on the bronze rhomboids symbolize water,68 in Dogon thought there is actually a powerful linkage between words, snakes, copper (the principal component of bronze/brass), and water:69
Copper jewelry is prescriptive, invoking at every point the primordial associations [ and, in addition, Dogon] myth links the Hogon, the priest, to copper. The Hogon mediates between mankind and Lb, the serpent, descendant of both the seventh and eighth ancestors, who gives life to both man and the land by coming to the Hogon at night and licking him. [] The Hogon is impregnated with copper. He is thus like copper and cannot cross any water because Nommo is the owner of copper, he takes back any copper passing over the waters reserved to him. That is, water and copper are of the same essence and both belong to Nommo. [] Dogon thought was explained to Griaule as a series of correspondences, but the foundation of the entire religious system rests on the quadripartite correspondence voice-spiral-copper-rain.

Once again, we witness the interdependence to the Dogon of forms and materials that to us are unrelated. It is to spirals that we next turn our attention.
Spirals

Cited a few moments ago in connection with zigzag lines and snakes, the spiral bears an obvious physical resemblance to a coiled serpent. This latent association is made patent in Ashanti goldweights where the head of the serpent emerges, like the gnomon of a sundial, from the centre of a planar brass spiral (Fig. 13).
Fig. 13. Sketch of Ashanti goldweight

Apart from the obvious spirals in Fig. 3b, some of the cartouche boundary studs in Fig. 1a and the row of nested circles in Fig. 1d seem to contain spiral elements. In addition, the buttons decorating Fig. 3e may originally have been spirals (see below). The two arms in Fig. 3c have spiral screw-threads reminiscent of the coiled wristbands and neck-collars on some Jenn-Dogon figurines.70

15 The double-spiral design adorning Fig. 3b (enlarged in Fig. 12a) has great antiquity, being found in Azilian (ca. 9000 BCE) and Early Minoan III (ca. 3000 BCE) sources,71 as well as in later Bronze Age fibulae (brooches) from Europe and the Mediterranean. Double-spiral cloak-fasteners, which date to the 9th-7th centuries BCE, are often called spectacle fibulae because of the resemblance to a pair of eyeglasses.72 Double-spectacle fibulae, consisting of two adjacent double-spirals, were also popular in this period. It is interesting to note that the space at the centre of a double-spectacle fibula is a curvilinear rhomboid. This space was often shielded by an ornamental faceplate; Fig. 14 shows a double-spectacle fibula in which the faceplate has an outline similar to the space it conceals.
Fig. 14. Sketch of double-spectacle fibula, Mediterranean area, C8th BCE.

Anti-clockwise double-spiral amulets were discovered amongst grave goods near the ruined town of Uri, in northern Darfur, Sudan, which was probably founded in the 13th century CE.73 Arkell describes such an amulet as follows:74
In Darfur it is not worn to-day by any of the indigenous peoples. It is, however, worn occasionally by women of [ El Fasher who ] all came from Tripoli via Kanem a generation or two ago. By these people it is called indiscriminately fsa, khsa, or ksa, which (probably) means metal charm. It is worn by the women of these tribes on the threads which form a long artificial lock, which hangs over the shoulder in front and inside the outer garment.

The double-spiral amulet is also found in Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria, as well as in India, Indonesia and other parts of Asia. Usually made of copper, iron, brass, or bronze, it is worn by women and children, especially with regard to pregnancy and the period following childbirth. For the week after a woman has given birth, it is customary in Al-Fashir (Darfur) for her to wear in her hair a kohl-pin with a double-spiral head whenever she has to leave her house.75 Arkells description of the anti-clockwise double-spiral continues:76
The Arab Kanem look on this charm as connected with fertility or birth, or more generally as a protection against the evil eye. It may be put on small male infants so that the evil eye may not harm them. It is worn by both married and unmarried women; the married women say that it will make them fruitful or preserve the children they already have, and unmarried women say that it will preserve their beauty from the evil eye. Women are also said to drink as a medicine the water in which it has been standing, and also to hang it on a cord over their childrens stomachs as a cure for internal pains.

In the southern region of the Inland Niger Delta, contemporary Bamana smiths make miniature bronze spirals for amulets.77 Double-spiral amulets continue to be popular in North Africa and the Sudan, including Mali, either for use as

16 fertility charms (a point resumed below in Prehistoric referents) or simply for wearing as earrings.78
Wheatsheaf/twist

A wheatsheaf or more correctly, an ear of grain stylized into a linear twist, braid, plait, twine, or rope decoration is seen in Figs. 2c,d (Fig. 12b) and Fig. 3c, with possible variants featuring in Figs. 1b,e (vertebrae and chevrons, respectively). The abstract wheatsheaf-and-serpentine combination clearly has old roots in West African metalwork, featuring for example on Jenn-Guimbala bronze bracelets of the 12-16th centuries CE.79 Although the wheatsheaf and its variants appear topologically related to the twine impressions that abound in Jenne pottery, they do not seem to be included in the many categories of impressed or plastic design identified for the latter.80 The wheat-sheaf braid somewhat resembles the pattern of scales in snakeskin. Moreover, Hans van der Osten demonstrates an ancient origin for the twistplait-wheatsheaf motif, whose prototype consists of a pair of interlaced snakes, a point resumed below (see Prehistoric referents).81 Late representations (e.g., Fig. 15, from the 12th century CE)82 include versions that, while clearly depicting one or more snakes, closely resemble the wheatsheaf design. Elsewhere, we find that the straight rows of vertebrae decorating the cartouche of Fig. 1b have parallels in the square serration along the elongated spine of a Dogon brass ancestor figure;83 of these, we read The back is decorated with an undulating ridge that could also represent a snake.84
Fig. 15. Snake(s) as wheatsheaf.

Despite the multi-faceted connection to snakes, the wheatsheaf twist is used in many different contexts in West African bronzes. For example, it is used to depict the plaited hair of a Jenn horses tail,85 while in a Dogon chiefs pendant such braids are arranged radially to signify solar radiation.86 Appropriately enough for a cereal-like motif, wheatsheaf braids are used to portray the four stairways descending from the Granary of the Master of Pure Earth.87 Wheatsheaf twists (usually accompanied by concentric circles or nested semicircles) also feature on more recent bronze items from the Mossi (e.g., horse stirrups), Baule (e.g., Fig. 16: hair braids on a female figurine, whose position on the head strongly recalls the appliqu snakes in Jenn-jeno terracottas) and Senufo (e.g., body pattern on chameleon pendants).
Fig. 16. Baule hair-braids

17
Studs

The round studs demarcating the cartouches in Figs. 1a,d,e,f and Fig. 3c have already been mentioned in connection with the nodules found on the skin of many Jenn-jeno terracotta figures. Here we will focus on the unusual U-shaped set of nine buttons that decorate the small rhomboid in Fig. 1e, shown enlarged in Fig. 17. Several of these pastilles have a central depression or cavity, so and it is possible that all of the buttons were originally spirals of fine thread that have worn smooth over time. Such an interpretation is supported by the overall similarity of the design to that of the pendant shown in Fig. 4, in which each of the discs is actually a planar spiral. The significance of the U-shaped configuration of nine buttons, potentially once spirals, is uncertain. However, in the Dogon myth of creation, the sun is surrounded by eight spirals of copper which are light and which give it its daily movement.88 This would potentially add up to nine circular elements relating to the recurring ascent, zenith, and descent of the sun through the sky. Of course, the copper spirals surrounding the sun are not merely part of some inanimate metal mechanism; these spirals, which are the excrement of the God Nommo, are equated also with water and with the Word. The rays of the sun are called mnn di, water of copper, and just as water is the generative force in the natural world, so the Word is the fertilizing agent in human relationships.89 So we encounter yet again the sacred Dogon quadrilogy of word-spiral-copper-water.
Fig. 17. Enlargement of U-shaped button decoration in Fig. 3e

Age For all that can be said about the appearance of the bronze rhomboids, their actual age remains a matter of conjecture. The archaeological context in which such objects come to light is unknown. It is unclear whether the casting of the bronze rhomboids was popular for just a few decades in one region or whether their manufacture was widespread and spanned many centuries. As mentioned above, textile residues inside some of the rhomboids should afford the milligram amounts of material that these days is sufficient for AMS radiocarbon dating, thus allowing the establishment of minimum ages for those particular pieces. At a cost of around US$600 per sample,90 however, the process is moderately expensive. The metal itself affords indirect information about age in several ways. Firstly, the bulk composition of the copper alloy varies over time, as for example in the replacement of tin (which makes true bronze) with zinc (which makes brass). West African metal mining and the local manufacture of true bronze were

18 largely suppressed from early in the second millennium CE by the availability of imported brass rods and/or manillas, provided first by Arab traders (8-14th centuries), then by the Portuguese fleet (15-17th centuries) and finally by Dutch or English sea trade (18-19th centuries).91 For example, in the series of illustrations that contains a depiction of a bronze rhomboid, Blandin also shows two excavated Guimbala miniature bells, with the comment that they contained no trace of tin;92 they were therefore made of brass. The proportions of the main elements in a brass object give further information on age: brass with >28% zinc is likely to pre-date 1500 CE, whereas brass with >33% is likely to postdate 1820 CE, and intermediate levels are associated with the period between these two dates.93 Secondly, the fingerprint of trace metals in brass (lead, tin, arsenic, nickel, iron, etc.) provides clues to the origin of the zinc. For example, in the east, zinc (from India and China) was extracted from sphalerite ore by a multistep process that left the zinc depleted in iron, whereas European zinc (from the Harz mountains in Germany) was smelted directly without removing the iron. Thus, 15-16th century brasses made from the former source contain <0.2% Fe, whereas those from the latter source more typically contain 0.5-0.7% Fe.94 In the same period, brass made from Harz mountain zinc may also have a significant tin and lead content (e.g., 3.5% Pb) due to recycling activities, in which scrap bronze was combined with freshly smelted metal. In contrast, brass made in the 18-19th centuries contains very low levels of trace elements.95 The third and final way in which the metal can provide information about its age and history is by examination of its surface, i.e., the patina and corrosion layers. In some cases, a microscopic examination of the depth and nature of these layers can allow rough estimates of antiquity to be made.96 Compositional analyses are usually achieved using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman laser spectroscopy, etc. Such analyses provide insight into the burial and atmospheric environments experienced by an object over its history,97 and thereby help to distinguish genuine patinas from even sophisticated fakes. However, they are not generally useful in terms of providing quantitative estimates of age. At present, there is no information about the elemental composition of the alloy from which the Jenn bronze rhomboids are made. Bare metal can be seen on worn/high spots or in surface scrapes on all of the rhomboids shown in Fig.3. For all but one item the uncorroded metal is a bright yellow colour, highly suggestive of brass rather than true bronze. The bare metal of Fig. 3e the smallest of all the rhomboids discussed in this article is the exception, being a darker and pinker coppery colour. It should be possible to determine the elemental compositions of each alloy by examining a scrape of sound metal from each of the rhomboids in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) fitted with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS).

19 In the absence of scientific or stratigraphic information about age, the best we can do is to list the various date estimates that have so far been made. These range from the 7th to the 19th centuries CE (Table 1). Table 1. Details of bronze rhomboids and related items in print and online. Century Source Bronze PortCartobjecta oucheb estimate rayed (CE) P O Andre Blandin,c Bronzes et Autres R Horiz 1* 7-11th 10th 11-14th 11-14th 11-15th 12-16th 17-18th 18th 17-19th 19th
Alliages, 6 Marina Yaguello, Parures Ethniques, France Judith Harris, Africa And More Fisher Nesmith (1980) African Arts 13, 89-90 Leclere Auction House, France Barakat Gallery, US/UK/UAE David Spetka, Niger Bend, New York Marc Ginzberg, African Forms, 253 TF Garrard, Africa Art of a Continent, 485 BC Galleries, Melbourne Roponatschen, Tribal Art Forum Karina Zarnon, Kazaart, Paris Claire Marwick, Africa Infinite, US Rossini Auctions, Paris Jan Rinzema collection, W. Europe R Hollow bracelets Other pendants R Solid bracelets Rs Rs General Solid bracelet R R Rs beads R belt finery Rs Vert Both Vert 1 1 4 1 Vert

Vert Vert 1 Both 1* 3 Vert 1 Both 2* 4 5 15 Total: Website names for online businesses are underlined, book titles are in italics. a R, rhomboid bead/pendant b P, long axis of cartouche parallel to hollow core; O, long axis of cartouche orthogonal to hollow core. Three square cartouches have not been listed in the P/O tally. c The bronze items depicted by Blandin are accompanied by text about the excavation of grave goods from tumuli at el-Oualedji, Killi, etc. (Florentin, Desplagnes); the tumuli in the Lakes region have now been radiocarbon dated to the 7-11th centuries CE,98 with elOualedji assigned a date early in the 11th century.99 * In total, 3 instances are known where the linear decorations (e.g. serpentine lines) within the cartouche run orthogonal to its long axis, and therefore orthogonal to the hollow core as well (as in the O-class examples).

Dates in the 17-18th centuries CE seem the most likely. TF Garrard writes Thus, while some items particularly the finer works in the Djenne style may date from around the 12th to the 16th century, there seems no reason why the great mass of other objects could not be more recent: from the 17th, 18th or even 19th century. This is to be expected if, as seems likely, cuprous metals became increasingly available during this latter period.100

20 Prehistoric referents a convergence on fertility Throughout the essay there have been recurring hints that the Jenn bronze rhomboids may harbour a deeper and older level of symbolism relating to fertility. It is now time to address this directly. As the items are made from a copper alloy, it is worth mentioning that the Bozo, Songhay and Kotoko identify copper with water spirits and, by extension, with fertility in general.101 There is also a close and, no doubt, colour-based association of copper with menstrual blood, and hence with fertility; indeed, the Bambara see copper as symbolizing the placenta, the epitome of living substance.102 As discussed above, the shape of the bronzes has considerable zoomorphic potential. Fig. 18 shows a Jenn terracotta of a frog-like zoomorph which, given the ancient Egyptian association of frogs with fecundity,103 was probably worn as a fertility amulet.104 In the amulet, the outline of the abdomen of this animal (the source of its prolific regenerative potential) is a curvilinear rhomboid.
Fig. 18. Jenn frog-like amulet in terracotta.105 Private collection (Germany), reproduced with permission from Memoire dAfrique (www.memoiredafrique.com).

We have already considered the immediate symbolism of the rhomboid, the spiral, the serpentine meander, and the wheatsheaf/twist motifs, and seen that they are all inter-related in referring to snakes. Beyond that, there have been recurring hints of a fertility theme. We should at this point be aware that West African art is known for its preservation of artistic templates in unbroken traditions spanning many millennia,106 in a constantly repeated canon of forms. If in addition we are informed that the lozenge and snake have since prehistoric times served as symbols of the female and male genitals, respectively,107 we might reasonably suspect that the Jenn rhomboids are bivalent symbols of fertility, consisting of female (rhomboid) shapes united with male (serpent) motifs. The concept is developed by Marija Gimbutas in her treatise on symbolism in the European Copper Age, a transitional period between the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age (4th-3rd millennium BCE):108
In the Copper Age, the Pregnant Goddess remains one of the most revered divine characters [; her] body parts are marked by squares, triangles [and] snake coil spirals [] Breads, marked with multiple lozenges and snake spirals, were probably offerings to the Earth Fertility goddess. The clay model - about 15 cm. long and marked with lozenges and spirals - which was discovered at Potporanj, a Vinca site in eastern Yugoslavia, is clearly such a loaf. [] The prehistoric bread oven itself was an incarnation of the Grain Mother [and] the illustrated specimen from Medvednjak, central Yugoslavia, is decorated with snake spirals, parallel lines, and meanders.

21 She elaborates on the rhomboid or lozenge shape as follows:109

The lozenge and triangle with one or more dots are encountered on shrine walls, vases, seals, and typically on the pregnant belly or other parts of the Pregnant Goddess, starting in the 7th millennium B.C. In origin, both glyphs probably are schematized configurations of the vulva and the pubic triangle and relate to the life-source. The dots perhaps represent the seed inside the womb or field. [] The meaning of the symbol is apparent from its position on the belly of pregnant figurines. The lozenge either has a dot in the center, or is divided into four equal parts with a dot in each compartment. [] The lozenge with a dot in the four corners may denote planting "in all four directions", a concept still extant in European folk belief. Throughout Europe, sowing in four directions is a ceremony carried out at the winter and spring plantings to ensure that dead vegetation will come to life again. Many dots within a diamond may signify multiplication of the seed, a general resurgence of life in the sown field.

In the Jenn bronze rhomboids, the cartouche (containing a multiplicity of motifs) has replaced the central dot, while the four corners have been developed into four distinctive termini, two open and two sealed. Gimbutas explains that the Pregnant Goddess[s] body parts are marked by squares, triangles, snake coil spirals, and the numbers two and four.110 Leaving prehistoric Europe for modern Africa, we read elsewhere that For the Dogon and Bambara, three is the symbolic number for the male principle, the glyph representing the [male] member with the testicles. The symbol of masculinity is also that for movement, in contrast to four, the sign of femininity and the elements.111 The same numerical symbolism is provided by others,112 by whom the female four is linked both to the four points of the compass (as we have seen above in regard to Tuareg crosses) and to the four limbs of the body.113 The inverted-T style of bronze Jenn pendant (Fig. 19)114 is undoubtedly a representation of the male principle; the Berbers use a similar hammer motif in their textile patterns, where it carries a similar meaning.115 In Mediterranean mythology, the T-shape or Tau is associated with phallic divinities such as Hermes-Eshmoun, whose symbol may underpin the cruciform component of the Agadez cross of the Tuareg.116
Fig. 19. Jenn bronze pendant. Niger Bend, www.nigerbend.com

The repetition of an element in prehistoric art is thought to intend an intensification of the concept represented by the symbol. Thus, in Gimbutas words:117
To express intensification, the cultures of Old Europe used images of doubles to indicate progressive duplication, and hence potency or abundance. This can be seen in the frequent use of double images of caterpillars or crescents, spirals, snakes, birds, and even goddesses. [] Similar intensification can be seen in energy symbols whirls and double snake spirals on the egg-shaped buttocks of figurines from the Karanovo, Cucuteni, and Vinca groups. Another fertility symbol with implications of field fertility is the lozenge. This sign,

22
sometimes quartered or in a panel, often marks the front and back of figurines with exaggerated buttocks, as in the illustrated specimen from the Vinca culture. On the basis of the foregoing discussion, it should be obvious that, in the prehistoric era, fat female posteriors had quite other than erotic significance. They were, in fact, the actualization of a cosmogony concept. This symbolism expressed reverence for supernatural potency, expressed by the doubling device, the power of two. [] In the Copper Age, the Pregnant Goddess is usually portrayed seated on a throne. The masked Lady of Pazardik is richly ornamented by a double spiral on her vulva and lozenges on her weighty buttocks and thighs.

A fragment of a (formerly seated) terracotta Goddess figurine from Luka Vrublevetskaja (Luka-Vrublevskaya), Upper Dniester, Ukraine, is shown in Fig. 20. It dates from a. 47004500 BCE.118 On the front a quartered lozenge (with a dot in each quadrant) highlights the pubic area, while on the reverse a large spiral adorns each buttock.
Fig. 20. Sketch of goddess figurine, 5th millennium BCE.

On the multiplication of the lozenge in Berber symbolism, Barbatti writes:119

The lozenge scissors or crossed zigzags represent the snake with its sexual ambivalence. It is a small, usually vertical chain of lozenges, the end lozenges of which have been cut off in the middle and form a chevron, like the open mouth of a snake about to bite. The lozenge scissors may be considered as a sort of continuation of the Ice Age phallus batons covered with vulva signs. The body of the animal as a whole is phallic, the linked lozenges [in the scale patterns of snake-skins] symbolize vulvae. The lozenge scissors as a symbol for the snake are similarly found in the iconography of early Asiatic and Indian cultures.

In a sense, the Jenn bronze rhomboids are mirror-images of Barbattis Ice Age phallus batons, insofar as they consist of vulva signs (rhomboids) covered with phallic symbols (snake-based motifs). From an earlier discussion, we know that the wheatsheaf/twist motif already consists of a doubled element; the prototype can be traced back to the preElamite culture of ancient Mesopotamia, where it began as a figurative representation of two interlaced snakes. There remains scarcely any doubt that the twist, ornamentally, symbolically or magically used, is a conventionalized form of the two twisted snakes in Susian art. Its meaning as a magic design or symbol may, perhaps, be found also in Susa. Toscanne states that the two snakes forming two interlaced ovals may be a symbol of eternal life or, perhaps better, of the eternal autogeneration of life.120 The same author indicates that it is sometimes (2nd-3rd millennium BCE) stylized further into a chain of angular lozenges, a motif that we discussed in the previous paragraph. On the intertwined serpentine motif, It is very interesting to see that the interlacing

23 appears on seal-cylinders frequently in connection with representations which are directly or indirectly linked with fertility.121 Naturally, it is intriguing that a double helical motif should come in antiquity to represent fertility and the eternal autogeneration of life, given that our genetic material DNA has precisely this molecular structure. We have already seen (Fig. 15) that medieval representations of the two interlaced snakes closely resemble the wheatsheaf design. Of course, any motif depicting a wheatsheaf (or, in Dogon country, the ear of a locally-grown grain such as millet) is ipso facto a symbol of fertility, so the symbolism may work on several levels. The spiral is one of the most ancient symbols for eternity, [although] it does not ever seem to have been a symbol for the Absolute.122 On the multiplication of the spiral, Arkell says:123
There is no doubt that the double spiral is a very old magic symbol. [] In prehistoric times, the simple spiral must have been regarded as possessing magic virtues, owing to its appearance as a line without an end; and so by association of ideas, since like produces like, it must have been hoped that the line without end would confer life without end. [] In the course of time, attempts would be made to improve the simple spiral. The most natural way would be to double the spiral.

In Egypt, double-spirals connected as shown in Fig. 3b/12a which Arkell describes as the most natural way of doubling the spiral are associated exclusively with females; a different inter-spiral connector that contains a protruding loop is used for males. This led Arkell to propose that the doublespiral, through developments of the way in which the components were connected, later acquired an explicit association with the reproductive organs of each sex.124 Ultimately, though, the core meaning of even the ostensibly snake-based spirals and serpentine meanders is likely to be female, leaving only the T-shape as a truly male symbol. In the words of Bruno Barbatti:125
The symbolic content of the spiral may appear mysterious; it is certainly ambiguous, but always refers to femininity. It is striking that the spiral often appears as an S-shaped double spiral, even amongst the oldest examples. With its twisting and coiling up it represents the link between two poles, most probably the link between mother and child during pregnancy. We have no doubt that the spiral symbolizes the umbilical cord. Unrolled [as a serpentine meander] it may be understood as a symbol of development and growth; wound up, it may point to the very core, to the source of life. In other places, too, it is concerned with the principle of feeding and growth. [The figure shows a] neolithic rock carving [of an] African antelope [with] a double spiral anchored in its body, probably the expression of a fertility cult. This is one of the finest rock carvings in the Sahara.

24 Concluding remarks Jenn bronze rhomboids originate in the culture of the Inland Niger Delta and may date to any time from the 7th to the 19th centuries CE, although manufacture in the 17-18th centuries seems most plausible. Technically, the bronze is in most cases likely to be brass. The consistency in the shape and ornamentation of these objects suggests a codified and potentially amuletic function rather than purely decorative one. They share some similarities of shape with modern Tuareg amulets, and their serpentine decorations recall the snakes on 13th-15th century Jenn-jeno ritual terracottas, but ultimately their symbol repertoire dates back to prehistoric times. The minimalism of their design opens up a wealth of interpretative possibilities: the rhomboid as a stylized snake-head, as a frog belly, as an abstraction of the human form, or as a symbol of femininity. Most of the motifs in the central cartouche wavy lines, spirals, wheatsheaf/twist motifs turn out to be snake references. While the Jenn rhomboids may reasonably be viewed as fertility amulets consisting of female (rhomboid) shapes adorned with phallic (serpent) motifs, sexual ambiguity pervades to the deepest level. Thus, for example, the head of the snake (male) is a rhomboid shape (female), the scales in snakeskin (male) form diamond-shaped patterns (female), and ultimately even the apparently snake-based spirals and undulating lines have female referents. Ambiguity and multiple meanings seem to be the defining characteristic of the Jenn bronze rhomboids. In part this can be ascribed to our current ignorance, whose uncertainties may be alleviated by future discoveries and investigations, but in another way it may be that and/also rather than either/or interpretations are appropriate for and indeed inherent to these fascinating objects. Eugenia Herbert writes:126
It is quite clear, observes Daniel Biebuyck, that a single art object does occur in different rites, events and circumstances. The objects are multivalent in usage and function; and as symbols, they can express many meanings. The artists work in giving form to a particular material (or cluster of materials) is only the beginning. The form and material contain a core meaning which is constantly augmented, qualified, extended, and even contradicted by the context.

Regardless of exactly when and why they were made, the enigmatic Jenn bronze rhomboids remain beautiful objects that speak to us today in a visual language drawn from the earliest era of human artistic expression.

Text (excluding quotations) and Figs. 3, 5, 11, 12 & 17 are Lloyd D. Graham, 2011. Special thanks to David Spetka of The Niger Bend, New York (www.nigerbend.com) for allowing me to borrow extensively from the images on his website, and to Jan Rinzema (W. Europe) for providing photographs of his bronze rhomboid collection (Fig. 2). Data from online resources was retrieved during Jan 2011.

25

5 6 7 8 9

10 11

12

13

14

15 16 17 18 19

20 21

Although bronze is traditionally used as a catch-all term for archaeological objects made from any copper-based alloy, technically it is correct only for alloys of copper and tin. Glaser, J. (2005) Cire-Perdue: Geheimnis und Faszination des Westafrikanischen Gelbgusses. Bad Brambach, Halle (Saale), ISBN 3-00-016808-7. Blandin, A. (2000) Afrique de l'Ouest Bronzes et Autres Alliages. Nouvelle Edition Remanie et Limite au Mali, Burkina Faso, et Nord Cote dIvoire. F. Soulat Photographie / Publi Graphs, Aix en Provence / Vitrolles, France, p.6. Herbert, E.W. (2003) Red Gold of Africa Copper in Pre-Colonial History and Culture. Univ of Wisconsin Press, p.117. Ginzberg, M. (2000) African Forms. Skira Editore, Milan, p.253. Herbert (2003), p.121. Herbert (2003), p.274. Herbert (2003), p.279. Rosenfeld, A. & Dvorachek, M. (2007) Some West African brass figurines of the 15th-17th Centuries CE - Jenne-Dogon Culture. Preprint (Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem) online at http://amnonrosenfeld.com/Links/African%20Brass%20Figurines.pdf. To be presented orally as Archaeometry of West African brass figurines from the Jenne-Dogon culture (15th-17th centuries CE), Geological Society of America Northeastern (46th Annual) and North-Central (45th Annual) Joint Meeting (2022 March, 2011), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Paper 21-1. Nesmith, F.H. Jr. (1984) The Jenne Bronze Question, African Arts 17 (3), 64-69. Frster, T. (1997) The bronze works of the Senufo. In: Schaedler, K-F. (1997) Earth and Ore: 2500 Years of African Art in Terra-cotta and Metal, trans. Burwell, G.P. Panterra/Minerva, Munich, p.93-95. Bracelets and Necklace [Mali; Jennenke] (1998.480.6,8_1999), October 2006. In: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Online at http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1998.480.6,8_1999. See, for example, the Guimbala bracelets at Barakat Gallery (items X.1090 and X.1091). Online at http://www.barakatgallery.com/store/index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/UserID/0/CFID/25 61863/CFTOKEN/b136c3161965c8ae-5304A03C-3048-33BCFC5D691716CC73ED/jsessionid/84306fdb795447349e6e3a2f5b326863c2e2/CategoryID/3 0/SubCategoryID/555/ItemID/19985.htm and http://www.barakatgallery.com/store/index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/UserID/0/CFID/25 61863/CFTOKEN/b136c3161965c8ae-5304A03C-3048-33BCFC5D691716CC73ED/jsessionid/84306fdb795447349e6e3a2f5b326863c2e2/CategoryID/3 0/SubCategoryID/555/ItemID/19986.htm. Other such items are online at http://www.africaandmore.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=445, http://www.africaandmore.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=446 and http://www.africaandmore.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=447, or photographed in printed publications [Ginzberg (2000), p.208]. de Grunne, B. (1988) Ancient sculpture of the Inland Niger Delta and its influence on Dogon art, African Arts 21 (4), 50-55. Rosenfeld & Dvorachek (2007). Nesmith, F.H. Jr. (1979) Dogon bronzes, African Arts 12 (2), 20-26. Ezra, K. (1988) The art of the Dogon, African Arts 21 (4), 30-33. Richardson, J.A. (1977) Speculations on Dogon iconography, African Arts 11 (1), 52-57. For example, no such item is recorded in McIntosh, S.K., ed. (1995) Excavations at JennJeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 Season. University of California Publications in Anthropology, vol. 20, University of California Press. Blandin (2000), p.4. Translated from the French by LDG. Leboeuf, A.M.D. & Pques, V. (1970) Archologie Malienne Collections Desplagnes, Catalogues du Muse de l'Homme, Serie C, Afrique Noire 1 (Supplement au tome X, 3, dObjects et Mondes, Revue du Muse de l'Homme).

26

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32 33 34 35

36

37 38

39 40

41 42 43 44 45 46 47

Szumowski, G. (1954) Fouilles a Fatoma (Rgion de Mopti), Notes Africaines No. 64, 102108. Szumowski, G. (1955) Fouilles a Kami et decouvertes dans la rgion de Mopti (Soudan), Notes Africaines No. 67, 65-69. Sudanese in the broader sense of people inhabiting the Sudan, a band of savannah lying south of the Sahel, as opposed to citizens of the Republic of Sudan. Dubois, F. (1896) Timbuctoo the Mysterious, trans. Diane White. Longman Greens & Co., New York, p.170. Nesmith, F.H. Jr. (1980) Dogon bronzes Postscript in Bamako, African Arts 13 (3), 89-90. More precisely, Jenn culture refers to the northern part of the Inland Delta, between the towns of Mopti, Jenn and Massina, while Bankoni culture refers to the southern part, between the towns of Segou, Bamako, Bougon and Sikasso [Tomio, L. Mali, Crocevia di Culture, online at http://www.arteafricana.com/SERVIZISPECIALI/codice/terra.htm ]. The southern region, which is also called Bamana culture, developed a minimalist longtorso (Gumby-like) figurine style quite different to the Jenn style of the north [Nesmith (1984)]. Some distinguish further between the Bankoni style (simple, natural) and Segou styles (fashion show, with many prominent bracelets and earrings) [Schaedler (1997), p.62]. E.g., Blandin (2000), p.5-7. See also Barakat Gallery items X.1090 and X.1091, bracelets described as Guimbala (Djenne), 12-16th centuries CE; , their URLs are given in note 13. Schaedler (1997), p.27. Lake Debo is towards the north of the Inland Niger Delta, near Goundam. Online at http://www.artheos.org/cgibin/get.pl?c0=2007&c1=2035,2036&c2=2009&lang=fra&pg=0&O=2962&P=3889 and http://www.artheos.org/cgibin/get.pl?c0=2004&c1=2035&c2=2009&lang=fra&pg=0&O=2208&P=3682. E.g., online at http://www.barakatgallery.com/store/index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/UserID/0/CFID/25 61863/CFTOKEN/b136c3161965c8ae-5304A03C-3048-33BCFC5D691716CC73ED/jsessionid/84306fdb795447349e6e3a2f5b326863c2e2/CategoryID/3 0/SubCategoryID/488/ItemID/7968.htm. E.g., Plate 1 Fig. 5 in Rosenfeld & Dvorachek (2007), or online at http://www.itemview.com/item_pages/36629c.htm. Nesmith, F.H. Jr. (1979), Fig. 13. Nesmith, F.H. Jr. (1980); Leboeuf & Pques (1970). See, for example, online at http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1998.478.4,5 E.g. Hagan, H.E. & Myers, L.C. (2006) Tuareg Jewelry Traditional Patterns and Symbols. Xlibris, USA, p.42, 62, 65, 67, & 70. See, for example, online at http://s335942851.onlinehome.us/OldweddingnecklaceTuaregTuaregfromNiger_409_itm.p hp. Hagan & Myers (2006), p.47. Mauny, R. (1954) Une enigme non resolue: origine et symbolique de la Croix dAgades, Notes Africaines No. 63, 70-79. Hagan & Myers (2006), p. 50. Like the ankh of ancient Egypt, the Agadez cross combines a female symbol (circle or ellipse) with a male one (T or cross-shape). See Mauny (1954). Hagan & Myers (2006), p.54 Mauny (1954). Translated from the French by LDG. Mauny (1954). Mauny (1954). Leurquin, A. (1999) On the trail of the serpent: Djenne terracottas. Tribal Art No. 20, 76-8. Glaser (2005), p.116. Rosenfeld & Dvorachek (2007).

27

48

49 50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59 60

See for example, the similar Roman silver bracelet (2nd century CE) online at http://www.ancienttouch.com/691.jpg Herbert (2003), p.223. Aggrey-Fynn, J. (2009) Distribution and growth of Grey Triggerfish, Balistes capriscus (Family: Balistidae), in western Gulf of Guinea, West African Journal of Applied Ecology 15, paper #1. Somerville, O. (1993) Kite-shaped brooches, Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 123, 59-101. See for example Memoire dAfrique, objects 2847, 2849, 4111 and 4749, at http://www.memoiredafrique.com/en/djenne/galerie-amis.php See for example Memoire dAfrique, objects 5037 and 5019 at http://www.memoiredafrique.com/en/djenne/galerie-amis.php Marina Yaguello, Parures Ethniques, Paris. Necklace online at http://www.paruresethniques.com/verre.htm. Lloyd D. Graham, The Affliction of Djenn, 2009. Photographs online at http://lloydg.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d352p3u, http://lloydg.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d352pd2, http://lloydg.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d352phg. The rhomboid of Fig. 3b had succumbed to bronze disease and required treatment. At the intermediate stage shown in Fig. 12a, it had undergone sequential immersion in 5% sodium sesquicarbonate (2 days), then 50% acetonitrile (4 weeks), then 5% sodium carbonate (3 weeks), and had many more steps to undergo. The real aim of such treatments is to remove all of the cuprous chloride from the metal/patina interface, since it is this that fuels the disease, but in the process paratacamite (a basic cupric chloride) and other bulky blue/green surface encrustations are dissolved away. A true green patina (i.e., a thin layer of malachite, a basic cupric carbonate, that closely follows the contours of the metal) will often undergo little visible change during sequi or carbonate treatment, and may even be intensified by the deposition of chalconatronite (a cupric sodium carbonate, blue-green). However, in this instance cuprite (cuprous oxide, orange) and subsequently tenorite (cupric oxide, black) formed on the surface during the sodium carbonate washes, rendering it very dark. Quantitative silver nitrate tests showed that 50% acetonitrile was far more effective at removing chlorides than sodium sesquicarbonate or sodium carbonate was. However, all treatments leach copper from the alloy, with acetonitrile causing continued loss of metallic copper as a fine elemental colloid. After extended treatment (>6 months), the surface metal beneath the oxide layer became silver-grey in color due to copper depletion. Key references for the three treatments mentioned above are as follows. Oddy, W. A. &Hughes, M.J. (1970) The stabilization of active bronze and iron antiquities by the use of sodium sesquicarbonate, Studies in Conservation 15 (3), 183-189; MacLeod, I.D. (1987) Conservation of corroded copper alloys: a comparison of new and traditional methods for removing chloride ions, Studies in Conservation 32 (1), 25-40; Uminski, M. & Guidetti, V. (1995) The removal of chloride ions from artificially corroded bronze plates, Studies in Conservation 4 0 (4), 274-278; Weisser, T.D. (1987) The use of sodium carbonate as a pre-treatment for difficult-to-stabilize bronzes. In: Recent Advances in the Conservation and Analysis of Artifacts, Summer Schools Press, London, 105-108. Commentary to Barakat Gallery item PF.5808, online at http://www.barakatgallery.com/store/index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/UserID/0/CFID/25 61863/CFTOKEN/b136c3161965c8ae-5304A03C-3048-33BCFC5D691716CC73ED/jsessionid/8430ced30f7751f7bd7731276f6c1d44147f/CategoryID/3 0/SubCategoryID/488/ItemID/9992.htm. de Grunne, B. (1995) An art historical approach to the terracotta figures of the Inland Niger Delta, African Arts 28 (4 ), 70-79. E.g., Schaedler (1997), p.45, 50-51. McIntosh, R.J. & McIntosh, S.K. (1979) Terracotta Statuettes from Mali, African Arts 12 (2), 51-53; see also the Memoire dAfrique commentary, online at http://www.memoiredafrique.com/en/djenne/esthetique.php.

28

61

62

63 64 65 66

67

68 69 70

71 72

73

74 75

76 77 78 79 80 81

82 83 84 85

86

87 88 89 90

91

Garlake, P.S. (2002) Early Art and Architecture of Africa. Oxford History of Art series, Oxford University Press, p.101-102. See, for example, Clarke, C. (2006) The Art of Africa - A Resource for Educators. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, p.44-46. Ginzberg (2000), p.253. Nesmith, F.H. Jr. (1979), p. 24. Richardson, J.A. (1977) Speculations on Dogon Iconography, African Arts 11 (1), 52-57. Meyer, P. (1981) Kunst und Religion der Lobi, Museum Rietberg, Zrich. Trans. Dunn, G. (2006) Art and Religion of the Lobi, ed. Gundlach, C., copyright Roy, C. Online at http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/Lobi/Lobi%20translation%202.htm. Meyer, P. (1981). Klaus Schneider presents a variation on this: he ascribes the anti-witchcraft function to studs/knobs, and reports that the wavy lines are intended to lead potential disasters and sicknesses astray. Schneider, K. (1997) Ceramics and brass of the Lobi in Burkina Faso, in Schaedler, K-F. (1997), p.111-115. Blandin (2000), p.6. Herbert (2003), p.283-284. See for example, Barakat items SP.155 and FZ.338, online at http://www.barakatgallery.com/store/index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/cmdPrevItem/220 02/ItemID/22002/SubCatID/488/userid/0.htm and http://www.barakatgallery.com/store/Index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/UserID/0/ItemID/ 4665/CFID/64648962/CFTOKEN/37851099.htm. A.J. Arkell (1937) The double spiral amulet, Sudan Notes & Records 20, 151-155. Aureum, Fibulae and ancient brooches, online at http://www.muntenbodemvondsten.nl/index.php?topic=15653.0. Healing Techniques Metal Implements The Double Spiral Amulet and the Kohl Pins, online at http://www.sudan-health.com/tm/tm/management/healing_techniqes/healingtechniques.htm. A.J. Arkell (1937). Healing Techniques Metal Implements - The Double Spiral Amulet and the Kohl Pins, online at http://www.sudan-health.com/tm/tm/management/healing_techniqes/healingtechniques.htm. A.J. Arkell (1937). Nesmith (1984), 68. Herbert (2003), 282. Barakat Gallery items X.1090 and X.1091, URLs given in note 13. McIntosh (1995), p. 135-137 & Plates 6-18. von der Osten, H.H. (1926) The snake symbol and the Hittite twist, American Journal of Archaeology 30 (4), 405-417. von der Osten, H.H. (1926), Fig. 34. Rosenfeld & Dvorachek (2007), Plate 1, Figs. 1-3 (No.183). Rosenfeld & Dvorachek (2007), 5. Barakat Gallery, item Sp.079, online at http://www.barakatgallery.com/store/Index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/UserID/0/CFID/68 66408/CFTOKEN/12395ac436026681-8B8904D3-3048-33BCFC39263A2A6466BE/jsessionid/8430a37e7ec62dde07d96131415766754235/ItemID/2189 2.htm. Artheos Gallery object 2916, online at http://www.artheos.org/cgibin/get.pl?c0=2007&c1=2035&c2=2009&lang=fra&pg=0&O=2916&P=3415; also Nesmith (1979), Fig. 13. Nesmith (1979), 21 and Fig. 8. Herbert (2003), p.282-283. Herbert (2003), p.283. E.g., http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Services/Laboratories-Facilities/Rafter-RadiocarbonLaboratory Rosenfeld & Dvorachek (2007).

29

92 93

Blandin (2000), p.7 Craddock, P.T. (1985) Medieval copper alloy production and West African bronze analyses - Part I, Archaeometry 27 (1), 17- 41. 94 Rosenfeld & Dvorachek (2007); Craddock, P.T. (1995) Early Metal Mining and Production. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C. 95 Rosenfeld & Dvorachek (2007); Craddock (1985); Craddock (1995). 96 E.g., see online at http://www.authenticafricanbronzesandceramics.com/. 97 For example, see Luo, W. & Jin, R. (2010) Analysis of the corrosion products of the ancient bronzes excavated from Qiaojiayuan tombs, Applied Physics Research 2 (2), 156-169. 98 McIntosh, R.J. & McIntosh, S.K. (1988) From Sicles Obscurs to revolutionary centuries on the Middle Niger, World Archaeology 20 (1), 141-165. 99 McIntosh, S.K. & McIntosh, R.J. (1986) Recent archaeological research and dates from West Africa Journal of African History 27 (3), 413-442. 100 Garrard, T.F. (1995) Djenne metalwork. In: Africa The Art of a Continent, ed. Phillips, T., Prestel, Munich & New York, p.485. 101 Herbert (2003), p. 285. 102 Herbert (2003), p. 281 & 285. 103 E.g., see online at http://www.exploratorium.edu/frogs/folklore/folklore_4.html 104 Object 2459, online at http://www.memoiredafrique.com/fr/djenne/galerie-amis.php 105 Object 2459, online at http://www.memoiredafrique.com/fr/djenne/galerie-amis.php 106 Tomio, L. Mali, Crocevia di Culture, online at http://www.arteafricana.com/SERVIZISPECIALI/codice/terra.htm 107 E.g., see Howey, M.O. (1955) The Encircled Serpent - A Study of Serpent Symbolism in All Countries And Ages. Rider/Noble, London/New York (Kessinger reprint 2005), 126-133; Carl G. Jung (1989) Aspects of the Masculine, ed. Beebe, J. Ark/Routledge, London, p.3. 108 Gimbutas, M. (1987) The earth fertility of old Europe. In: Dialogues d'Histoire Ancienne 13, 11-69, at 14-18. Online via Perse at doi:10.3406/dha.1987.1750, http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/dha_07557256_1987_num_13_1_1750. 109 Gimbutas (1987), p.14-15. 110 Gimbutas (1987), p.14. 111 Chevalier, J. & Gheerbrant, A. (1982) Dictionnaire des Symboles. Editions Robert Laffont/Jupiter, Paris, p.974ff, cited by Barbatti (2008) Berber Carpets of Morocco: The Symbols - Origin and Meaning, trans. Bridgman, A.J. ACR Edition, Internationale, Paris, p.140 fn33. 112 Nesmith (1979). 113 Richardson (1977). 114 For another example, see Ginzberg (2000), p.253. 115 Barbatti, B. (2008), p.170. 116 Mauny (1954). 117 Gimbutas (1987), p.25-31. 118 Gimbutas (1987), p. 31 & 48. 119 Barbatti, B. (2008), p.170. 120 von der Osten (1926). 121 von der Osten (1926). 122 Price, J. (1974) The Mystic Spiral Journey of the Soul. Thames & Hudson, London, p.11. 123 Arkell (1937). 124 Arkell (1937). 125 Barbatti, B. (2008), p.312-3. 126 Herbert (2003), p.241.