Fulani Twisting Leaf Earrings

Fulani women wear their gold large. These are the everyday version.

Fulani women of the region are famous for sculptural gold earrings, worn as adornment and as a visible store of family wealth. These contemporary earrings from Mali draw on that tradition at a smaller scale. Each is brass finished in gold, hammered thin and twisted into overlapping petal-like folds that catch the light from every angle. A slender wire hoop rises from the twisted body, wrapped at the joins.

About an inch and a half long. The hammer marks show across the polished surface. Light enough for a Tuesday.