Splendor of the gold coast

All that glitters is gold in this lavish volume that celebrates both the superb metalsmithing skills of the Akan peoples of what is now modern Ghana, in western Africa, and one of the more singular art passions that have distinguished the long career of the industrialist collector Alfred C. Glassell Jr. During World War II, Louisiana-born Glassell served in Europe and in Africa. For decades, this oil-and-gas tycoon has shared his largesse with several cultural institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, whose art school bears his name.

It was at that museum, in 1997, that the Glassell Collection of African Gold found a permanent home and soon became one of its most popular exhibits. Gold of the Akan showcases many emblematic examples from those holdings of more than 900 objects created by the Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast, as well as works from Mali and Kenya. Among the gold-crafted objects are sword handles and ornaments shaped like gaboon vipers, lions, birds and palm fruit; ornate staffs topped with elephants, porcupines or human figures; and, inevitably, a treasure trove of jewels, from chunky bracelets to delicately crafted chains. There are some surprises here, too, like a pith helmet and assorted pairs of chiefs' sandals, all covered in fine gold leaf.

"The collected royal arts of a given state provide a record of its history, a measure of its wealth, and a statement of its collective identity," Ross writes. He also points out that, over time "many neighbors of the Akan have copied or commissioned from the Akan items of regalia for their own use."

A short section on kente cloth and a wealth of color photographs from Africa showing how many of the royal, ritual objects that Glassell collected are still used today bring scholar Doran H. Ross's well-informed text vividly to life and spark wanderlust in the armchair traveler who longs for firsthand contact with a part of the world, which--to many Europeans, Americans and Asians may still not be as well known as it deserves to be. Modern artists long ago discovered and assimilated the geometry, line and shapes of African sculpture. The techniques, formal vocabulary and imagination that this book highlights leave us eager to learn much more.

--Reviewed by Edward M. Gomez Edward M. Gomez writes regularly on art for The New York Times, Art & Antiques and other publications.

Gold of the Akan From the Glassell Collection by Doran H. Ross, with contributions by Francis Marzio Merrell/The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 2003, $75.00, ISBN 0-890-90115-5

COPYRIGHT 2003 Cox, Matthews & Associates
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group