Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 15

31 Brazilian Silver Amulets

$8,500per set
£6,449.60per set
€7,374.55per set
CA$11,872.20per set
A$13,200.27per set
CHF 6,892.45per set
MX$160,679.38per set
NOK 87,944.67per set
SEK 82,399.95per set
DKK 55,037.59per set
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

These 31 Brazilian amulets, or balangada, were hammered from sheets of silver in the 19th century to form pomegranates, sugar apples, guava, and other exotic fruits. Symbols of fertility, they were the bling of their day, adorning the wrists and waists of women, and when not being worn, they adorned the home. Made for their own womenfolk by enslaved men from the kingdom of Benin, balanganda represent the final efflorescence of this African nation’s metalworking skills, which had reached an apogee with the large figural bronzes that were coveted by kings, as they are by museum curators today. Like jazz in the United States, Brazilian balanganda testify to the adaptive inventiveness of black culture, and the persistence of the creative impulse under duress. Since one of their functions was to adorn the home, today they could be hung on a tree, boughs of pine, or be placed in a bowl as a centerpiece. The silver content is approximately 70%. They're sold as a set, and are not available in smaller groups or individually. All have their original rings for hanging. Being artisanal the sizes vary from 3.5" to 6" in diameter (not including stems), or 7" to 8" in length, approximately. The double gourd is 8" and the gourd dipper is 16".
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 6 in (15.24 cm)Diameter: 5 in (12.7 cm)
  • Sold As:
    Set of 2
  • Style:
    Folk Art (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Silver,Hammered
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    circa 1850
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1061413036492

More From This Seller

View All
Silver Leaf Pin
Located in New York, NY
The verisimilitude of this pin to a leaf may be the result of its actually having been cast from one. But the unobtrusive nib at the end of the gently curving stem, by which the pin ...
Category

Vintage 1970s American American Craftsman Natural Specimens

Materials

Silver Plate

Japanese Scholar's Object
Located in New York, NY
This natural gourd was sliced at the top, hollowed out, and lacquered in black inside, around the rim, and on the bottom where it was signed by the artisan with Chinese and Japanese ...
Category

Early 20th Century Japanese Organic Modern Vases

Materials

Lacquer

Chandelier Attributed to Bagues
By Maison Baguès
Located in New York, NY
This 1930s French chandelier adapts an Ancien Regime form to Cafe Society taste. The arms are3 trimmed with cut-glass arabesques, the frame is steel rath...
Category

Vintage 1930s French Rococo Chandeliers and Pendants

Materials

Steel

Two Japanese Bronze Shells
Located in New York, NY
These charming bronze shells were cast in Japan in the 19th century. They lived for many years in the collection of the Paris artist Pierre Le-Tan. One of...
Category

Antique 19th Century Japanese Edo Scholar's Objects

Materials

Bronze

Pair of 1920s French Sconces
Located in New York, NY
Madcap, whimsical, spritely, over-the-top -- these are just a few of the adjectives that spring to mind in describing this stylish pair of 1920s French sconces. Their steel frames a...
Category

Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Wall Lights and Sconces

Materials

Steel

1920s Swedish Grace Sculpture
Located in New York, NY
This abstract 1920s Swedish sculpture of painted-and-gilded plaster, on a painted-wood base, is pleasing from all angles. At the time and place where it...
Category

Vintage 1920s Swedish Modern Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Plaster, Wood

You May Also Like

Rare Silver Balangandãs - 20th Century Brazilian Native Hanging Amulet
Located in Rio De Janeiro, BR
Mid 20th century brazilian silver hanging amulet from native culture in Brazil. Known as "Penca de Balangandãs" was used in the ancient times as an amul...
Category

Mid-20th Century Brazilian Other Tribal Art

Materials

Sterling Silver

Rare Silver Balangandãs - 20th Century Brazilian Native Hanging Amulet
Located in Rio De Janeiro, BR
Mid 20th century brazilian silver hanging amulet from native culture in Brazil. Known as "Penca de Balangandãs" was used in the ancient times as an amul...
Category

Mid-20th Century Brazilian Other Tribal Art

Materials

Sterling Silver

1960s Antique Large Penca De Balangandan Afro-American Amulet Tinplate, Brazil
Located in Andernach, DE
Absolutely unique very large creole 'Penca De Balangandan' from Brazil from around 1960. Tin base, possibly silver plated. Traditional slave amule...
Category

Mid-20th Century Brazilian American Colonial Tribal Art

Materials

Tin

Early 20th Century Brazilian Metal Hanging Amulet 'Penca de Balangadas'
Located in Barcelona, ES
Early 20th Century Brazilian Metal Hanging Amulet 'Penca de Balangadas' – Circa 1890 Discover the captivating history behind this early 20th-century metal hanging amulet, known as '...
Category

Antique 1890s Brazilian Tribal Tribal Art

Materials

Brass

Fine Asian Ethnographic Silver Necklace India Jewellery Gifts
Located in London, GB
Vintage Indian silver necklace Asian Tribal Jewellery A Very fine Vintage Indian silver necklace made in sections with floral pattern a...
Category

Mid-20th Century Indian Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Silver

Vintage Moroccan Silver Fibula Collectible Ethnic Jewelry Talisman
By Berber Tribes of Morocco
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Moroccan Silver Fibula Collectible Ethnic Jewelry Talisman. Circa 1960's. Beautiful vintage Moroccan fibula. Nice Folk Art. A fibula was used t...
Category

Mid-20th Century Moroccan Folk Art Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Metal