Description: Two birds on a tree
Label Text: Lavish displays of gold by royal and priestly classes characterize the Akan societies occupying the region of southern Ghana once called the Gold Coast. Gold is the primary indicator of rank among the Asante, the largest and most documented Akan subgroup.
A chief’s counselor and spokesman (okyeame, commonly translated as “linguist”) carries an elaborate staff signifying high office. Linguist staff finials (AC 1987.24) are carved from wood and covered with thin sheets of gold. Their imagery typically communicates messages from the ruling family to its subjects. Here, two birds in a tree may comment on loyalty and solidarity in the royal family, as in the proverb “Birds of the same species roost in the same tree.”
KG, 2010
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