Sword ornament "gyata" (lion) · Ghana, Akan / Ashanti · ID: 3048040
sold
EUR 800
Size
L: 20,5 cm
H: 15 cm
L: 8.1 inch
H: 5.9 inch
Description
metal (corroded),
These figures were fixed to the sheath of state swords “afena”. The attached eyelet was used for fastening. The ornaments represent different animals (crocodile, monkey, birds), that serve to visually characterize proverbs or sayings.
Tooth-baring lions such as this example have been associated with a proverb that implores one to listen to chiefly warnings: “If the lion has no intention to attack, it will not show its teeth.”
Comparing literature
Cole, Herbert M. & Doran H. Ross, The Arts of Ghana, Los Angeles 1977, p. 152, Fig. 318