This stunning volume showcases and explores a rich and varied collection of Asante royal regalia in the broader context of Asante art. The Asante Kingdom, founded around 1701 in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), was renowned for gold, the foundation of its wealth and power. For centuries they mined this metal and traded it with northerners on the Saharan caravan routes and Europeans along the Atlantic coast. The earliest examples of Asante gold were recovered from the wreck of the Whydah, a slave ship that sank off Cape Cod in 1717. The Power of Gold focuses on a dazzling array of adornments and implements used by Asante royals and officials during the 18th century to the present day-providing a deeper understanding of the history, traditions, and visual arts of the Asante people, one of the thriving cultures of West Africa.
- ISBN10 0300233043
- ISBN13 9780300233049
- Publish Date 15 May 2018
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 4 March 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Yale University Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 134
- Language English