Royal Ceremonial Sword

late 19th or early 20th century

Asante, African

On View

African: Fit for a King, Level 1, North Wing

Royal Ceremonial Sword: 1 of Collection Gallery

Royal Ceremonial Sword: 2 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

This Akan sword type called an afena was probably inspired by an Islamic North African prototype. Although it lacks a cutting edge, the afena in Asante royal regalia symbolizes a leader’s supreme authority over life and death. On ceremonial occasions, royal guards carry swords to signify the king’s broad temporal powers. However, the afena also serves a religious function communicated by the sacred ray fish skin overlay on its leather scabbard. The scabbard’s white chalk coating indicates the blade has been ritually consecrated, endowing it with protective powers. Typically an afena is embellished with a cast-gold figurative emblem illustrating a proverb about leadership. Here a bird carries a keg of gunpowder in its mouth and cannons on its wings, which are twisted into a “wisdom knot.” Common in royal art, this motif represents the proverb: “A great leader goes to war with full armor, swiftness and wisdom.” From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Royal Ceremonial Sword

Artwork Date late 19th or early 20th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Asante

Medium Wood, gold leaf, rayfish skin, cast gold, and leather

Dimensions Overall: 28 × 6 1/2 × 6 inches (71.1 × 16.5 × 15.2 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Museum Purchase, Joseph H. Parsons Fund, Gilbert B. and Lila Silverman, Stanford C. Stoddard, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Eisenberg, Ralph H. Booth Bequest Fund, Abraham Borman Family Fund and Africa, Oceania and Indigenous Americas General Art Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2005.2

Markings

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Provenance

(Albert Nuamah, Detroit, Michigan, USA)

2005-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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Published References

Quarcoopome, Nii. “Akan Leadership and Status Objects,” Bulletin of the DIA 91, 1/4 (2017): p. 47 (fig. 2.30a-b).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Asante, African, Royal Ceremonial Sword, late 19th or early 20th century, wood, gold leaf, rayfish skin, cast gold, and leather. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Joseph H. Parsons Fund, Gilbert B. and Lila Silverman, et al., 2005.2.