id:			130309
accession number:	1952.84
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.84
updated:		2022-01-13 10:01:38.889000

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

title:				Disk Pendant (akrafokɔnmu)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1800s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1899
current location:		108C Akan & Yoruba
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Asante Empire/ Kingdom, member of the goldsmiths’ guild
technique:	Gold
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Jewelry
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Diameter: 11 cm (4 5/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* The Brooklyn Museum (10/18/1954 - 1/2/1955): "Masterpieces of African Art"<br><br>Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (1/18/1962 - 2/25/1962): "The Imagination of Primitive Man"<br><br>The Cleveland Museum of Art at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland (6/9/2006 - 8/20/2006): "The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art"

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PROVENANCE

	Sir Cecil Hamilton Armitage, Ghana
	date: ca. 1900
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?–1952
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1952–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall 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.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	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
	url:		

	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
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.84/1952.84_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.84/1952.84_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.84/1952.84_full.tif