64th FAAAA Annual Meeting

The Friends of African and African American Art (FAAAA) invite you to their 64th Annual Meeting, featuring a public lecture by Raymond Silverman, PhD, “Forests of Gold: Exploring the History of Things Made of Metal in Ghana.” 

The Akan region of southern Ghana holds some of the world’s richest deposits of gold. The precious metal began being mined and exported at least as early as the fourteenth century, when merchants from the ancient empire of Mali, in the interior of West Africa, arrived at the northern edge of the Akan forest. They carried with them commodities to exchange for gold, including luxurious brass bowls and basins made in Mamluk Egypt. These items and the related introduction of the technology (lost-wax casting) associated with their manufacture provided the basis for a rich and varied metalworking tradition that continues to the present day. This evening’s talk, featuring peices from the DIA’s fine collection of Akan metalwork, explores the history of this tradition, examining a range of distinctive objects, including nkuduo (vessels for holding gold), paraphernalia for weighing gold, and political regalia used by Akan chiefs.

Free with general admission. Reception to follow.

Akan, African, Ornament, between 19th and 20th century, gold. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, African Art Fund, 76.26.