170. Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool)

 

Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool)
Ashanti peoples (south central Ghana). c. 1700 C.E. Gold over wood and cast-gold attachments

The Golden Stool has been such a part of their culture for so long, with so much mythology around it, that we can't be sure exactly when it was made. The color to represent royalty changes between times and cultures. Many of the brighter colors simply weren't available throughout Africa until Europe began to colonize

Identify:

170. Sika Dwa Kofi, c. 1700 CE, Asante People (South Central Ghana)

Form:

• Gold over wood and cast-gold attachments
• 18 inches high, 24 inches long, and 12 inches wide
• Carved using traditional Asante methods  
• Carved using a single block of wood
• Has a crescent shaped seat that is held off the ground by a flat base 

 Function:

• This stool is the divine throne of the Asante People
• Bells on this stool warn the king of danger
• The stool is used in celebrations and processions
• "Believed to embody the spirit of the Asante Nation" 
• Nobody is allowed to sit on it so they keep it on its side
• It represents the soul and identity of the people, therefore, the Ashanti people would disappear from history without the Golden Stool
• gives meaning and value to the society's existence and a place in history 
• New kings are lowered in raised over the stool for initiation ceremonies, but the stool cannot be touched
• Less sacred stools are given to men and women when coming of age and take on the soul of the individual throughout their lives
• people do not share them to protect a single person's soul within the object

 Content:

• Carved wood block covered with gold
• Two bells are tied to each end of it representing divine spirits or kings
• Contains intricate designes in midsection connecting the seat to the base
• Seen with small figures attached to the seat
• Believed to contain sunum, which is the soul if the people
• Gold symbolizes royalty

Context: 

• The Ashanti are the largest ethnic group in Ghana today
• In the 17th century their king Osei Tutu united many previously independent chiefs into one kingdom.
• The priest Okomfo Anokye is said to have "dramatically extended his arms towards the heavens" after assembling the various chiefs.
• A Golden Stool then descended from the heavens to Osei Tutu and the chiefs devoted themselves to the king at the divine symbol. 
• The stool is so sacred it has never been placed on the ground or sat on.
• The stool is more important to the Asante People than the king/Asantehene
• Validated by the stool, the Ashanti flourished
• The king was views as a divine medium between his people and the spiritual realm
• Ashanti are a matrilineal society where line of descent is traced through the female, but the personality and soul of a peson comes form he father.
• The kingdom was rich in gold, so it is pivotal to the art
• Affected by British imperialism (desired gold).
• In order to suppress resistance and diminish traditional cultures, the British governor Sir Frederick Hodgson demanded the Ashanti give up the stool so he could sit on it, which was a major insult to the society.
• a queen mother organized a resistance that led to the War of The Golden Stool
• Although the Ashanti lost the war, the Ashanti protected the Golden Stool as today it is still in the Ashanti Royal Palace in Kumasi, Ghana.

Cross-Cultural Connections:

• Jowo Rinpoche (image 184)
• both revered icons with origin in the heavens that make it sacred and powerful

Themes:

• Sacred Objects of Belief 
• Ritualistic
• Significant materials 
• Status

AP Art History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_people#Geography

https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/topic-essays/show/8?start=1

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/africa-ap/v/sika-dwa-kofi-golden-stool

http://www.projectbly.com/blog/the-golden-stool