Long Table 179. Wealth From the Sea: Cowries as Currency and Art

Friday, April 19, 2024
1:00 PM ET

Cowrie shells are one of the most widespread, long-lasting, and versatile currencies in world history. Their use in art objects is equally diverse and is well-represented in a number of works at the Art Institute of Chicago. Elizabeth Hahn Benge, collection manager for Arts of Africa and Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium at the Art Institute, will introduce cowries as a currency with a focus on their use and circulation in Africa. She will discuss works of art in the Art Institute’s collections that incorporate cowrie shells and what overlapping meanings might exist between the economic and artistic functions. The presentation will conclude with a behind-the-scenes look at some complex museum procedures that involve understanding specific classifications of different cowrie species, and how that complicates museum exhibition processes.

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