The Akan people of Ghana’s southern rainforest are renowned for their rich endowment of gold. Consequently, gold holds a special place in their vibrant art and culture. This talk explores how gold adornment among the Akan, from personal adornment and jewelry to royal regalia, is associated with power and prestige. Gold signifies leadership, a fact that is evident especially among the Asante, the last group to emerge from the various Akan civilizations.

Learn more about Akan gold use in projecting political power, wealth, and personal well-being from art historian Nii Otokunor Quarcoopome, curator of African Art and department head of Africa, Oceania, and Indigenous Americas at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

This program complemented the exhibition "The Language of Beauty in African Art," which brought together more than 250 works from dozens of distinct cultures across the African continent.

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