H x W x D: 61.5 × 9.2 × 9.8 cm (24 3/16 × 3 5/8 × 3 7/8 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Agnibilekrou town border zone, Côte d'Ivoire
Ghana
Date:
Early to mid-20th century
Label Text:
Among the Akan peoples of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, gold-covered objects are prestige items owned by chiefs and individuals of high status. This sword served as a state or ceremonial sword(afena) and formed part of the regalia of a high-ranking Akan chief. It is fashioned of a masterfully wrought iron blade and embellished with intricately carved double pommel hilt covered with gold leaf. Collection data attributes the sword to the Agnibilekrou region, located along the central border zone between Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which may reflect where it was used rather than where it was made.
In Akan societies, stools and state swords are the most important items of regalia. State swords are held and displayed when a ruler is installed to office, carried by retainers in royal processions, held by envoys and messengers of the chief as emblems of rank and authority, and displayed when a deceased chief lies in state (Cole and Ross 1977: 145-146; Ross 2002: 39). Originally, the blade would have been covered by an animal skin scabbard. Scholar Timothy Garrard indicates that Akan swords decorated with gold leaf have been made at least since the seventeenth century. He notes, “They appear to have been purely ceremonial; no record exists of their use in warfare, and they lack a cutting edge” (Garrard 1989: 66).
Among the Baule and related peoples of Côte d'Ivoire, gold is associated with the ancestors (Vogel 1997). Gold-leafing is a centuries-old technique that may have been introduced to the Baule of Côte d'Ivoire from the Akan region of Ghana. In gold-leafing a small pellet of gold is repeatedly hammered and turned on an anvil to achieve a uniformly thin sheet. This leaf of gold is then placed on an ornately carved object and affixed with tiny metal staples or an adhesive. The range of Baule objects ornamented with gold leaf include wooden figures, fly whisk handles, sword hilts, knife handles, linguist staff finials, umbrella finials, combs, hair pins and other objects, including non-functional gongs and strikers, lanterns, jugs, trumpets, rifles, hats and umbrellas. They are part of the family's inheritance and are linked to ancestral forces and the soul of the family. Gold-covered objects are placed on display for funerals, for certain masquerade performances and for ceremonies associated with leadership. Gold-handled fly whisks may also be brandished by dancers during masquerade performances.
Description:
Sword with a slightly curved iron blade decorated with linear motifs and serrated inner edge. The sword’s wooden, spherical double pommel hilt, which terminates in a rounded conical tip, is embellished with gold foil affixed over incised linear, zigzag, chevron, and curvilinear designs and, on the lower sphere, spaced equidistantly, are four low-relief stylized facial motifs rendered with oval eyes and flared nostrils, with some embellished with linear and X-shaped designs. Portions of the gold foil are missing, revealing the carved patterns. Closely-spaced incised chevron motifs ornament the shaft linking the two spherical forms of the hilt. Inscribed on the blade just below the hilt is the number N284 in white pigment on one side and the number 188 on the other side.
Provenance:
Helena Rubinstein, New York and Paris, before 1966
Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, April 21, 1966, lots 170 and 171
William W. Brill, New York, April 1966 to 2006
Sotheby’s, New York, The William W. Brill Collection of African Art, November 17, 2006, sale NO8287, lot 48
Steven Morris Fine Art, LLC, Birmingham MI, 2015
Exhibition History:
Helena Rubinstein: Madame's Collection, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris, November 19, 2019-June 28, 2020
Selections from the William W. Brill Collection of African Art, Milwaukee Public Museum, May 5 – August 31, 1969; St. Paul Art Center, St. Paul, MN, October 23 – December 21, 1969; Tweed Art Gallery, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN, January 14 – February 22, 1970
Published References:
Parke-Bernet. 1966. African and Oceanic Art: The Collection of Helena Rubinstein. Auction catalogue (April 21, 29). New York, sale 2469, no. 170 and 171.
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