Sujet

Ashantee golden ornaments and trophies, 1874. Creator: Unknown.

Légende

Ashantee golden ornaments and trophies, 1874. 'The prize agents of the British military forces lately serving in the campaign on the Gold Coast sold to Messrs. Garrard, for about £11,000, the articles of gold and other precious material which our troops carried off from Coomassie [ie Kumasi], including...an ugly but characteristic feature of this collection - a human head of massive gold [now in the Wallace Collection], weighing 50 oz. or 60 oz., which seems to represent the head of a victim gagged for sacrifice...On each side of this hideous and horrible effigy is a golden model of a state portable canopy or umbrella. The one to the left is ornamented with a variety of devices, such as wild beasts' teeth and claws, and tufts of hairy mane...[Also shown is one of] two golden griffins, which formed the arms or elbow-rests of King Coffee Calcallee's throne...; two caps of state, and a few circular plates of repousse work in gold, worn on the breast as badges of official dignity. The two swords of state...are of very singular shape. Instead of a hilt, each blade is attached to a sort of frame, with four golden balls, which served as feet...The broad iron blade, formed like a segment of a disk, is curiously decorated with an open-work pattern'. From "Illustrated London News", 1874.

Crédit

Photo12/Heritage Images/The Print Collector

Notre référence

HRM25A33_042

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

Licence

Droits gérés

Format disponible

27,7Mo (2,4Mo) / 31,5cm x 22,0cm / 3719 x 2601 (300dpi)

Mots clés

Africa footwear shoes arts metal law art crime continent clothes British weapon weapons African dress gold war location collection century sword valuable Britain treasure shoe trophies trophy newspapers press clothing print artefacts blade swords Ghana artefact expedition concept stolen goods artifacts controversy artifact APPAREL B&W metaphor warfare controversial engraved engraving loot Gold Coast 19th century booty black & white black and white B W weaponry 18th century Eighteenth Century looting nineteenth century heritage The Print Collector Asante Ashanti Illustrated London News plunder plundering spoils of war TGN West African wood engraving ILN Wallace Collection theft newspaper Unknown Anglo-Ashanti Wars cultural heritage 19th-century clothing & dress fashion & clothing Kofi The Illustrated London News Third Anglo-Ashanti War First Asante Expedition Sagrenti War Third Anglo-Asante War Kofi Karikari Karikari Coffee Calcallee Calcallee Coffee plundered