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Art of the Asante Kingdom

• 
  Memorial Head, 17th century
  Ghana; Akan, Twifo region, Hemang city
  Terracotta, roots, quartz fragments

  H. 7 31/32 in. (20.24 cm)
  The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1967 (1978.412.563)

• 
  Pectoral Badge (Akrafokonmu), 18th–19th century
  Ghana; Akan, Asante
  Gold

  Diam. 5 1/2 in. (13.97 cm)
  Lent by The Estate of Christian Humann (L.1982.92)

• 
  Seated Male Figure, 19th–20th century
  Ghana; Akan
  Wood, kaolin

  H. 19 in. (48.26 cm)
  Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Melvin A. Scharfman, in memory of Dr. Milton Gross, 1980 (1980.429)

• 
  Linguist Staff (Oykeame), 19th–20th century
  Ghana; Akan, Asante
  Gold foil, wood, nails

  H. 61 5/8 in. (156.53 cm)
  Gift of the Richard J. Faletti Family, 1986 (1986.475a-c)

• 
  Textile Wrapper, 20th century
  Ghana; Akan
  Rayon, cotton

  L. 56 1/2 in. (143.51 cm)
  Gift of Bill and Gale Simmons, 1993 (1993.384.2)

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The kingdom's active role in the gold, cloth, and slave trades brought vast wealth that fostered especially rich artistic traditions.

Related

Timelines (3)

• Guinea Coast, 1600–1800 A.D.
• Guinea Coast, 1800–1900 A.D.
• Guinea Coast, 1900 A.D.–present

Primary Thematic Essays (3)

• Asante Royal Funerary Art
• Asante Textile Arts
• Gold in the Asante Courtly Arts

Other Thematic Essays (3)

• Trade and the Spread of Islam
• Trade Relations Among European and African Nations
• The Transatlantic Slave Trade

Maps (2)

• Africa, 1600–1800 a.d.
• World, 1600–1800 a.d.

Index Terms (8)

Art Movement/Style

• Akan Peoples of Western Africa

Geography/Place

• Guinea Coast

Material and Technique

• Sculpture in the Round from Guinea Coast

Object

• Men's Clothing
• Regalia
• Women's Clothing from Africa and Egypt

Subject Matter/Theme

• Ceramic Portrait
• Trade (1600–1800 A.D.)

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In the seventeenth century, the region of West Africa known as the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) was dotted with several small-scale principalities populated by peoples belonging to the Akan cultural group. Linked by trade routes, a shared language, and similar belief systems, these states nonetheless remained separate entities until the early eighteenth century, when Asante, an inland kingdom ruled by a chief named Osei Tutu, embarked on a process of territorial expansion that united them as one kingdom. By 1750, Asante had become a large empire whose borders were roughly congruent with those of Ghana today. Developing an inclusive model of leadership that emphasized points of similarity and adopted traditions from throughout the territory for courtly use, Osei Tutu promoted unity among the peoples over whom he ruled and cultivated a strong national identity that has remained to the present day.

The kingdom's active role in the gold, cloth, and slave trades brought vast wealth that fostered especially rich artistic traditions. The king himself was perceived as a creative force whose dynamic patronage of the arts, along with his health and appearance, were considered an important metaphor for his kingdom's strength and stability. The art of Asante, like that of all Akan peoples, wove together the verbal and the visual by illustrating spoken proverbs that communicated accepted truths and practical advice. In courtly art, verbal motifs relating to the cohesion and prosperity of the kingdom were used extensively.

Alexander Ives Bortolot Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University

Citation

Bortolot, Alexander Ives. "Art of the Asante Kingdom". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/asan_1/hd_asan_1.htm (October 2003)

Further Reading

Blier, Suzanne Preston. The Royal Arts of Africa: The Majesty of Form. New York: Abrams, 1998.

Cole, Herbert M., and Doran H. Ross. The Arts of Ghana. Los Angeles: Museum of Cultural History, University of California, 1977.