Baule gold bead necklace - Ivory Coast - Baule $20000.00

Baule gold bead necklace - Ivory Coast - Baule $12500.00

Crocodile and lizard motif disk beads - Ivory Coast - Baule $95.00
The price is per gram. This is the price for all of our gold beads, whatever their size. The figurative pieces are not priced by weight, rather by their design, quality of execution, etc. Please contact us for specific bead weights and prices.

Old goldweights - all types - Ivory Coast - Baule $50.00
Geometric were used for centuries to weigh gold and are all at least 100 years old since the practice of using gold as a common unit of exchange ended about 100 years ago. Please click on the image to view two more photos and two more types of old goldweights. The second photo shows a group of assorted goldweights, all $25 each. These are more ordinary in shape but have specific weights and were as useful as the more intricate weights. The third photo shows two shield figurative goldweights, both priced at $175 each.

Small crocodile pendant - Ivory Coast - Baule $5000.00

Large gold dust spoons - Ghana - Ashanti $95.00
Please click on the photo to view another set of large gold dust spoons in another style.

Old brass gold dust spoons - Ghana - Ashanti $50.00
These are all old brass spoons which were used for manipulating gold dust in commercial transactions. Please click on this photo to see another set of old brass spoons. Most of the spoons are $50. The exceptions are as follows: the one in the lower left of this photo is $95. The one just above that one is $30. The smallest one in the top of the same photo is $25. In the second photo the smallest spoon in the top right of that photo is $30.

Gold royal rings - Ghana - Ashanti $2625.00
All the rings in this photo are the same price except the one on the far right which is $925. Please click on the photo to see 2 more sets of rings. All are the same price in the second and third photos. Please note that the top ring in each of those two photos have been sold. Ashanti gold is generally low carat (below 14 carats) but are authentic, having been made for and worn by members of the Ashanti royal family and entourage. Most date to 1950 to 1960.

Gold royal chain necklace - Ghana - Ashanti $5600.00
The name in the Akan language for these necklaces is "suman" which literally means "charm". The pendants worn on these chains have specific protective powers depending on the design of those pendants. When Ashanti royalty appear in public on ceremonial occasions they always wear quantities of gold jewelry, including handmade chains of many designs.

Gold royal necklace - Ghana - Ashanti $5600.00
Please click on this photo to see another beautiful Ashanti royal gold necklace. Both are the same price.

Gold leaf covered wooden crown - Ghana - Ashanti $3750.00
These crowns are magnificent examples of the technique the Ashanti have devised to stretch their gold and use it as effectively and economically as possible. Gold is highly valued as symbolic of royal power and is used as widely as possible in adorning royal accessories, especially crowns. Please click on the photo to see the second one, which is the same price.

Abotire crown of gold leaf pieces - Ghana - Ashanti $3500.00
This style of Ashanti crown is flexible, like a hat, but is covered with gold leaf-covered wooden elements. Its name in the Akan language is abotire. This is the oldest, most traditional of crown styles, worn by all levels of Ashanti royalty. Please click on the photo to see another of these unusual crowns. Both are the same price. The pendant in the second photo is gold leaf-covered wood. That necklace is $975.

Gold watch bracelet - Ghana - Ashanti $3750.00
This bracelet looks like a watch but only tells the time twice a day. There is no movement in it. In fact, the Ashanti, like many Africans, value watches more as jewelry than as timepieces. This one is pure jewelry, conforming to the Ashanti love of gold and deference to modern society at the same time.

Heavy silver bracelet - Ghana - Ashanti $3750.00
Although not gold, this bracelet is made in the style of the gold bracelets the Ashanti prefer. This bracelet, in solid metal, would be astronomical in price in solid gold. In the same way that the Ashanti use gold leaf-covered wood to replace solid gold, they may also make items in silver to represent an item traditionally made in gold.

Gold leaf covered armbands and pendant - Ghana - Ashanti $925.00
The two armbands pictured here are the same price. The pendant necklace is $975.

gold beads - Ghana - Ashanti $1950.00
Each of these solid gold beads is the same price.

Eagle top power symbol - Ghana - Ashanti $7500.00
The name in the Akan language for these swords is "afenatena" which literally means "long sword". They do not function as swords. In fact even functional swords went out of use 300 years ago with the advent of guns. The focus of attention of these iron highly decorated swords are the gold leaf-covered wood tops, representing, in general terms, Ashanti proverbs pertaining to the power and role of the king in Ashanti society. These ceremonial swords were actually carried in ceremonial processions and are recognized as substitutes for the actual swords of state which are kept in the royal palace. The swords of state are second only to the royal stools in significance as symbols of the source of the power the Ashanti king inherits. The actual significance of each sword depends on the way it is used in specific ceremonies, including harvest, installation of a king, purification of the sould of the king, etc. These same swords are also carried by representatives of the king as symbols of his authority when they have been sent to carry out the business of the king. Please click on the photo to see the full piece.

Lion top sword power symbol - Ghana - Ashanti $7500.00
Please click on the photo to see the full piece.

Double sphere top sword power symbols - Ghana - Ashanti $4600.00
This gold top power symbol is covered with hammered sheets of gold, heavier than common gold leaf. Please click on the photo for a photo of another, similar power symbol with a silver top and the full silver top piece. In silver the price is $3500.

Gold pendant - Ghana - Ashanti $3000.00

Set of 3 ceremonial iron swords - Ghana - Ashanti $6000.00
This is a beautiful matched set of 3 ceremonial iron sword power symbols, each topped with a wooden handle covered with gold leaf. These symbols always accompany the Asantehene, the king of the Ashanti, when he appears ceremonially in public. Please see the eagle power symbol above for a more complete explanation. Please click on the image to view the other 2 power symbols.

Gold necklace with pendant - Ghana - Ashanti $7500.00
This is an exceptionally beautiful gold chain with an extraordinarily fine heart shape pendant. The shape of this pendant, though well known in the West as a symbol of love, is actually not considered to be a heart at all in Ashanti tradition. Indeed the real human heart is not shaped like this at all. The Ashanti devised this shape as a reference to the san ko fa bird whose head is turned 180 degrees around to look behind it. That bird is the symbol of a proverb which signifies, loosely interpreted, that we must learn by looking to our past. Please click on the image to see 2 more beautiful gold necklaces, these priced at $5,600 each.

Silver necklace - Ghana - Ashanti $3750.00
Of course, this is not gold but it is Ashanti. Silver necklaces are commonly worn by the queen mother. I regret I could not enlist her to pose for these photos. Please click on the photo to see 2 other versions of this genuine, old silver Ashanti necklace.

Soul priest pectoral disc - Ghana - Ashanti $7500.00
The name in the Akan language for this piece is "akrafokonmu" where "akra" means "soul", "fo" means "people" and "konmu" means, loosely, "around the neck". It is worn on the chest like a pendant and is the badge of identity of a soul priest. One of his primary roles is to preside over the ceremony in which the soul of the king is purified. The shape is called "nyame" which means both "sun" and "God". It measures 4 1/2" in diameter.

Gold necklace - Ghana - Ashanti $975.00
This is a less voluminous and lighter gold necklace, possibly worn by younger girls. Please click on the image for 2 more gold necklaces, the first of which is priced at $3,700, the second at $5,600.

Second group of geometric goldweights - Ghana - Ashanti $75.00
Please click on the image to see two more sets of goldweights. All of the goldweights in the second and third sets are priced at $50 each.

Goldweights - third set of photos - Ghana - Ashanti $50.00
Please click on the image to view two more photos. The second photo is another view of these same weights, showing their sizes. The third is a different set of weights.

Goldweights - fourth set of photos - Ghana - Ashanti $50.00
Please click on the image to view two more groups of goldweights. The weights in the second set are $25 each. Those in the third set are $50 each.

Goldweights - fifth set of photos - Ghana - Ashanti $25.00
Please click on the image to view two more sets of goldweights, at the same price, $25 each.

Cocoon top crown ring - Ivory Coast - Baule $3950.00
This royal Baule ring bears a representation of a crown, topped by what appears to be a tiny bundle of sticks. That "bundle of sticks" represents, in fact, a cocoon of a type found commonly in Africa (though I do not know its species). The ring is a reference to a proverb which, loosely translated, says that it is a mystery whether a caterpillar builds its cocoon around itself or if it builds the cocoon and then gets in it. The significance is that there is a certain amount of mystery necessary to being a king, or a ruler of any kind. It is not necessary for everyone to understand all that a king understands. From another point of view, this serves also as a justification for his rule: if the king indeed has the knowledge which is a mystery to the public then it is his duty and right to be the king. The fact that the cocoon is on top of a crown reinforces the power of this symbolism.

3 bird ring - Ivory Coast - Baule $3950.00
Please click on the photo for 2 more views of this fine old Baule royal ring.

Square pendant with 2 masks - Ivory Coast - Baule $7500.00
2 1/8 x 1 3/4" (5.3 x 4.4 cm)

Long-haired Baule mask pendant - Ivory Coast - Baule $7000.00
2 1/2" tall (6 cm)

Fine detail mask pendant - Ivory Coast - Baule $7500.00
2 1/2" tall (6 cm)

Round repousse crocodile bead - Ivory Coast - Baule $7500.00
2 3/8 x 2 5/16" (6.1 x 5.8 cm)

Crescent shape mask pendant - Ivory Coast - Baule $7000.00
2 1/2" wide x 2 1/8" tall (6 x 5 cm)

Small Baule mask pendant - Ivory Coast - Baule $3000.00
1 1/8" tall (2.7 cm)

small ram figure - Ivory Coast - Baule $2950.00
1 1/2" long x 1 3/16" tall (3.6 x 2.9 cm) Please click on the image for 2 more views of this fine little figure.

Smooth mask pendant - Ivory Coast - Baule $7000.00
2 1/2" tall x 1 3/4" wide (6.3 x 4.4 cm) Please click on the image for 2 more views of this fine old pendant.