Akan art is an
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
form that originated among the
Akan people
The Akan () people live primarily in present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. The Akan language (also known as ''Twi/Fante'') are a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Congo ...
of
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
. Akan art is known for vibrant artistic traditions, including textiles, sculpture,
Akan goldweights
Akan goldweights (locally known as mrammou) are weights made of brass used as a measuring system by the Akan people of West Africa, particularly for wei and fair-trade arrangements with one another. The status of a man increased significantly if ...
, as well as gold and silver
jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
. The Akan people are known for their strong connection between visual and verbal expressions and a distinctive blending of art and philosophy. Akan culture values
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
above all other metals, so the artwork and jewelry made of gold reflects a great deal of value, whether it be made for appearance, artistic expression, or more practical trading purposes.
Goldweights
One of the most popular pieces of Akan art are the
Akan goldweights
Akan goldweights (locally known as mrammou) are weights made of brass used as a measuring system by the Akan people of West Africa, particularly for wei and fair-trade arrangements with one another. The status of a man increased significantly if ...
. The gold weights were made of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
,
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
, and
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
. They were cast using a method of casting known as lost-wax technique or "cire perdue". Goldweights were created for economic transactions involving gold. Although it is not clear when the convention of weights were first introduced, scholars suggest that the Akan first traded gold with Muslim merchants from the West African interior, long before European contact. Their weight system correspond to the Islamic weight system of North Africa, and appear to be part of early sub-Saharan trade.
The gold weights served a vast amount of roles in their culture and everyday life. Akan goldweights are used as
counterbalance
A counterweight is a weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a mechanical system. The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves energy and causes less wear ...
s on the scales used in gold trade, visual representations of oral tradition, representations of proverbs, as pictographic script in social and political system, and in the knowledge system of the Akan people. Goldweights were used in everyday trade and commerce, as well as in accounting, as a type of fraction or counter. According to the Akan scholar Nitecki, Akan gold weights were "created and used like spoken language to commemorate social or historical events or entities, to express philosophical or religious views, aspirations, and dreams, or simply to ask questions, or to express displeasure". The Akan pyramids were concrete testimonials to how the artist felt about themselves and major life events and dilemmas such as marriage, children, injustice, and personal and statewide conflicts.
There are four major categories of goldweights, based on what was depicted. The first kind of gold weights depict people. The second consist of the local flora and fauna. The third category are likened to man-made objects. The final category are abstract and open for interpretation by individual.
Jewelry
Akan cultural jewelry has a variety of forms. The Akan people make neck-wear, wrist bands, elbow-wear, knee-wear, and ankle-wear. Gender-specific jewelry includes hat pins and headbands for men and earrings and hairpins for the women.
References
* Akan Goldweights. (1995) Retrieved 9 February 2007 from https://archive.today/20131227125457/http://www.fa.indiana.edu/~conner/akan/shape.html.
* Kreft, Linda. Wrapped in Pride- Akan Art and Proverbs. (2004). Retrieved 8 February 2007 from http://www.lindakreft.com/akanart.html.
* Peirce, Susan. Akan Art of Ghana. (2005). Retrieved 9 February 2007 from http://www.canyonlights.com/akanartofghana.html.
* Arthur, G. F. Kojo. Akan Goldweights Symbols. (2001).
* Arthur, G. F. Kojo. Akan Cultural Symbols Project Online (1998-2001). {{cite web, author=CEFIKS Publications, url= http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/, title=AKAN cultural symbols project, publisher=Marshall University, accessdate=October 10, 2005, url-status=dead, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060206085418/http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/, archivedate=February 6, 2006
See also
*
Adinkra symbols
''Adinkra'' are symbols from Ghana that represent concepts or aphorisms. ''Adinkra'' are used extensively in fabrics, logos and pottery. They are incorporated into walls and other architectural features. ''Adinkra'' symbols appear on some tradit ...
*
Kente cloth
Kente ( ak, kente or ''nwetoma''; ee, kete; Dagbani: Chinchini) refers to a Ghanaian textile, made of handwoven cloth, strips of silk and cotton. Historically the fabric was worn in a toga-like fashion by royalty among ethnic groups such as the ...
*
Nsodie
The Memorial Head or Nsodie is a type of 17th to 18th century ceramic portrait sculpture of the Akan peoples, believed to have been created by women artists depicting royal personages. They are represented in the collection of the Metropolitan Mus ...
External links
For spirits and kings: African art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman collection an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Akan art
African art
Ghanaian culture