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A yellow metal necklace and bracelet from Ghana with links in the form of adinkra symbols. In a red velvet heart-shaped box.
Adinkra symbols had originated among the Asante people by the early nineteenth century. Several hundred symbols have been recorded, and each relates to a different concept or proverb. Many are drawn from popular sayings and folklore. The characters feature heavily in decorative embellishment and are traditionally also printed onto textiles using stamps made from dried calabash.
This necklace and bracelet incorporate the symbols for gye nyame (supremacy of God), bi nka bi (peace, harmony), nsaa (excellence, authenticity), nyame biribi wo soro (hope), nyame dua (God's presence and protection), asase ye dua (the divinity of Mother Earth), mmusuyidee (good fortune), and nkyinkyim (initiative, dynamism), among others.Provenance
Presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the President of Ghana, November 1999
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Medium and techniques
Yellow metal
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