Akan art

Akan art is an art form that originated in West Central Africa, including the present day countries of the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. Akan art is known for gold weights, as well as cultural jewelry. The gold weights were made of copper, bronze, and brass. They were cast using a method of casting known as "cire perdue". The gold weights served a vast amount of roles in their culture and everyday life. The Akan people are known for their strong connection between visual and verbal expressions. Akan culture values gold above all other metals, so the artwork and jewelry made of gold reflects a great deal of worth to them, whether it be made for appearance, artistic expression, or more practical trading purposes. One of the most popular pieces of Akan art are the Akan gold weights. Akan gold weights are used as counterbalances 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.

Gold weights 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 gold weights. 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.

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 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.
* Rowe, Robert. Akan Goldweights Symbols. (2001). Retrieved 9 February 2007 from http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/abramo.html.