Sword

CultureAkan peoples
Titles
  • Sword
Date1930–1950
PlaceGhana, Africa
MediumIron, wood, and gold leaf
DimensionsOverall: 40 1/4 × 4 1/2 × 6 1/4 in. (102.2 × 11.4 × 15.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr.
Object number97.1370
Current Location
The Caroline Wiess Law Building
201M Blaffer Gallery
Exposé

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Description

Swords play a central role in rituals of the Akan peoples, including oath-of-office ceremonies and purification rites for the chief's soul. Considered to be empowered by divinity, swords serve to protect shrines and bear witness to the chief's power. The ornament adorning this sword represents a palm fruit, a symbol of invincibility. 


The blades and shafts of swords are created with great skill, in geometric patterns and animal forms. Designs of elephants, lizards, snakes, and sankofa birds make these ceremonial blades works of art rather than weapons. On this sword blade, a frog or turtle appears at the top. Winding from there is a serpent whose tail is tipped with a flat crescent shape. The cut-out portions on the flat end of the blade create the silhouette of a scorpion.


Swords are also decorated with gold-leaf handles and elaborate cast-gold ornaments that relay proverbs and have symbolic meaning. The palm fruit is a plant feared for its thorns, which are seen as weapons. As an ornament on this sword, it elicits the proverb "The chief is like a palm fruit. If you fire a gun into it, you waste your bullets."


ProvenanceAlfred C. Glassell, Jr. (1913–2008), Houston, before 1997; given to MFAH, 1997.
Exhibition HistoryExhibited: "The Private Eye: Selected Works from Collections of Friends of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston" from June 10, 1989 through August 13, 1989 at the MFAH.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Sword with Three Blades
1930–1950
Iron, wood, gold leaf
97.1362
Sword
1930–1950
Iron, wood, and gold leaf
97.1376.A,.B
Sword
1895–1905
Iron, gold leaf and wood
97.1373
Sword
1900–1950
Iron, gold leaf and wood.
97.1377
Sword
1900–1950
gold leaf, wood, iron
97.1371
Sword
1900–1925
Iron, gold leaf and wood.
97.1379
Sword
1895–1905
Wood, gold leaf, iron
97.1364
Scan from photography for Glassell catalog
1930–1950
Iron, wood, and gold leaf
97.1378
Sword
1900–1925
Iron, wood, and gold leaf
97.1503
Sword
1900–1950
Iron, gold leaf and wood.
97.1381
Sword
1900–1950
Iron, gold leaf and wood.
97.1380
Sword
1935–1945
Iron, gold leaf and wood
97.1383