AKAN, GHANA OR IVORY COAST

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Asante necklaces featuring disk-shaped pendants, known as akrafokonmu or ‘soul washer’s disks,’ are symbols of leadership, spirituality, and protection. These ornate discs are traditionally worn by rulers, queen mothers, and officials called akrafo, who perform rituals to cleanse leaders’ souls. Intricate, radiating patterns are often worked into the faces of these disks, evoking the sun’s life-giving energy and underscoring the metal’s association with the vital life force (kra).

A compelling taste of the profound and eternal imbues this radiant disk pendant, which takes the form of a finely rolled spiral with openwork circumference. On this gently vibrating plane, reptile images settle as though sunning themselves, sharing the space with a central column over which the spiral pattern lies like a veil. This is a stunning piece of metalwork whose painstaking and flawless craftsmanship testifies to the mastery of the Asante artisans.

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