Object Details
Maker
Fante artist
Akan artist
Label Text
Rulers among the Fante and neighboring peoples generally communicate through royal spokesmen. Serving as intermediaries and advisors, these counselors hold positions of considerable authority that require loyalty, judgment and an impressive command of language, particularly proverbs.
Such high-ranking individuals carry elaborately carved, gilded staffs of office that are topped with figural references to proverbs. Here, the finial depicts two men sitting at a table with food before them and invokes the well-known proverb "The food is for the one who owns it, not for the one who is hungry." It reinforces the notion that the throne belongs to the rightful heir, not to challengers who desire the office. It can also be applied more broadly to the inheritance of family wealth and responsibility.
Description
Wood staff, black in color, elaborately carved and accented with sections of gold leaf, topped by a wood finial covered with gold leaf and depicting two men seated on stools with a low table between them. One of the men has his hand poised over the food bowl that rests in front of them on the table. The finial is separately carved and fits into the top of the shaft; the shaft is carved in three parts which are attached through dowels. Decorative banding along the shaft is embellished with gold-leafing and has been touched-up with gold paint where the gold leaf has worn off.
Provenance
Sidi Camara, -- to ca. 1975
Dimondstein Tribal Arts, ca. 1975 to 2004
Exhibition History
Good As Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 24, 2018-February 2, 2020; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, September 16, 2020-January 3, 2021
Published References
Maples, Amanda, Ashby Johnson, Marian, and Dumouchelle, Kevin D., 2018, Good As Gold, Washington, D.C.: NMAfA, Smithsonian, p. 19, illustrated p. 20
Content Statement
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Credit Line
Museum purchase
Date
Mid-20th century
Object number
2004-11-1
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Wood, gold foil
Dimensions
H x W x D: 162.6 x 15.9 x 5.7 cm (64 x 6 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.)
Geography
Ghana
See more items in
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source
National Museum of African Art
Topic
Status
furniture
Male use
male
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmafa_2004-11-1