Selections from the Treasure of Ahmadu
The Treasure of Segu (or Treasure of Ahmadu)—part jewelry, part library, and part military paraphernalia—represents the collective wealth removed from the palace of Ahmadu Sheku in 1890, at the time of French conquest. Its contents of precious metal jewelry had been appropriated only thirty years earlier by Ahmadu Sheku’s father, El Hajj ‘Umar Tal, from the treasuries of Tamba, Kaarta, Bamana Segu, and the Caliphate of Masina over the course of his military campaigns.
Artwork Details
- Title: Selections from the Treasure of Ahmadu
- Date: late 18th–early 19th century
- Geography: Mali, Segu
- Medium: Gold, silver, leather
- Dimensions: Dimensions variable
- Classifications: Metalwork-Ornaments, Metalwork-Jewelry
- Credit Line: Musée du Quai Branly–Jacques Chirac, Paris
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
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