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Source Description
Gold discs dangling on the chests of Akan state officials and elites showed their rank and duties. Worn by these <em>akrafo </em>(“soul people”) since the 1800s, they are often linked to <em>kradware, </em>officials who represent and purify (“wash”) the king’s soul. To make them, goldsmiths cast or flattened gold. Muslim North African gold coins likely inspired their form and material, while concentric water rings influenced their composition. This small disc is typical of pre-colonial examples. Gold ornament making ceased until 1924; court officials now wear large discs.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
130309
label
Disk Pendant (akrafokɔnmu)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
130309
contentType
object
title
Disk Pendant (akrafokɔnmu)
description
Gold discs dangling on the chests of Akan state officials and elites showed their rank and duties. Worn by these <em>akrafo </em>(“soul people”) since the 1800s, they are often linked to <em>kradware, </em>officials who represent and purify (“wash”) the king’s soul. To make them, goldsmiths cast or flattened gold. Muslim North African gold coins likely inspired their form and material, while concentric water rings influenced their composition. This small disc is typical of pre-colonial examples. Gold ornament making ceased until 1924; court officials now wear large discs.
date
1800s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79912055
genreSpecific
Jewelry
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 11 cm (4 5/16 in.)
cul
Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Asante Empire/ Kingdom, member of the goldsmiths’ guild
accession
1952.84
Source extras
tec
Gold
tombstone
Disk Pendant (akrafokɔnmu), 1800s. Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Asante Empire/ Kingdom, member of the goldsmiths’ guild. Gold; diameter: 11 cm (4 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1952.84
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
Gold miners from the Akan region once mined gold to make local objects like this and to supply gold for trade across trans-Saharan routes and into places as far away as Europe.
citations
citation
Ratton, Charles. « Les bijoux en forme de disque etc. » Special Issue,<em> Présence Africaine </em>: <em>L'Art Nègre</em> 10-11. Paris : Aux Editions du Seuil (1951)
page_number
Ill. opp. p. 129, no. 53; text p. 146.
citation
Jopling, Carol F., ed. <em>Art and Aesthetics in Primitive Societies</em>. NY: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1971: 66.
citation
Simms, Lowery Stokes. <em>The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006: 32.
citation
Brooklyn Museum. <em>Masterpieces of African Art. Exhibition Dates: October 21, 1954-January 2, 1955.</em> [Brooklyn]: Brooklyn Museum, 1954.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 39
citation
William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, and Ralph T. Coe. <em>The Imagination of Primitive Man: A Survey of the Arts of the Non-Literate Peoples of the World.</em> Kansas City, Mo: The Museum, 1962.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 25, cat. no. 34
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:44:01.227000
sourceId
130309
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Gold
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
1a37e75fdd9b4e80