#danford collection of west african art and artefacts

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The West African Wardrobe – my placement at the Research and Cultural Collections

Post by Oskar Lundin

Oskar Lundin was the International Museums and Collections Award 2019 recipient from the University of Lund.  He carried out a 4 week placement with Research and Cultural Collections in July 2019, with other projects hosted by Winterbourne House and Garden and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts.

I was introduced to the West African textile collection on the first day of my placement at the Research and Cultural Collections Study Centre.  Whilst I had various smaller projects that I had ongoing at institutions like the RCC, the Barber and Winterbourne, this one was to keep me occupied for the entirety of the month. 

Ewe

Kente textile, 20th century, Research and Cultural Collections 

The West African textiles are a significant part of the Danford Collection of West African Art and Artefacts, the main body of which was collected by John Danford in the 1950s during his time as a British Council representative in Nigeria. Upon coming to England, the objects were used for teaching at the University of Birmingham and the collection was added to through gift and purchase over the years. In 1968, Sister Evelyn Bellamy’s array of Ghanaian artefacts were gifted to the collection. Among these were a number of textiles, and from these I was given a short-list to choose to research for my Campus Curiosities article in the Buzz magazine. This project piqued my interest and educated me in a new field of study, made tangible by the fantastic pieces from the collection. 

 I settled on a 20th century Kente cloth, consisting of narrowly woven strips of fabric stitched together, made by the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo. It would be wrapped around the body to function as a man’s garment. With its brilliant colours and an interesting design, combining a geometrical style with sparse representational motifs, this one stuck out from the rest in a way that captured my interest. I set about doing some research on Ewe Kente and West African textiles, where the tradition of weaving is thought to date back to the 11th century. To this day, the weaving and wearing of Kente bears esteemed cultural symbolic importance. Despite this, details on the maker and the specific meaning of this particular Kente remains unknown. One theory is that this Kente might have been commissioned to mark a rite of passage into adulthood since the cloth is adorned with bird motifs, symbols invoking the local proverbial saying “a bird which grows feathers will always fly”. Writing a short article for Buzz was great practice as one is rarely trained to set aside one’s learned academic tone.

For the purpose of having the article “published” our workroom transformed into a studio where I got to carry out some photography. Despite mainly getting blurry shots, as a novice photographer, I’m genuinely pleased with the one-off good shot that made the cut!

In order to preserve it, the textile collection is kept in acid free boxes in a regulated environment and folded into sheets of tissue (textiles being notoriously fussy about storage conditions). Therefore, when it was realised that woollen blankets were found to be shedding in their boxes, precautionary measures had to be taken. These blankets needed to be sought out and placed in separate boxes. This task provided me with experience in handling museum objects – a good skill-set to have going into this field of work – though rather uncomfortable for someone who, like me, is used to appreciating them from a distance. Once the blankets were nicely tucked away, the cataloguing database became my priority. As the textiles had been moved, their location on the database needed to be updated and the boxes relabelled. Working with the University’s collections management database Mimsy XG, I acquainted myself with complexities of such a database, which allowed me to hone my skill in cataloguing as I prayed for some good old Christian temperance. The effort of going through the textile database resulted in neat storage labels for the boxes. Hopefully this will make the process of searching the archive more joyous in the future for staff and other researchers.

Oskar on his final placement day

I would like to thank everyone at Research and Cultural Collections for keeping me busy with exciting projects and for being great mentors!

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Representations of Ceremony

This guest blog has been written by Research and Cultural Collections volunteer, Katherine Sykes, who works on documentation and digital access.

When I was asked to write about a single object from the Danford Collection of West African Art and Artefacts, it soon became apparent that it was not going to be an easy task to choose one. The Danford Collection contains a wide and varied assortment of fascinating objects from the many cultures of West Africa throughout a variety of time-periods, and it is only after hours spent trawling through the Collection’s records that I finally settled upon this Akan gold-weight.

Unknown

Goldweight, brass, Research and Cultural Collections

Due to a generous donation from Sister Evelyn Bellamy (who was a missionary in Ghana from 1913 to 1943) the Danford Collection holds a number of goldweights in a variety of shapes and sizes.

The Akan people populate an area of West Africa to this day. Those who identify themselves with the distinct Akan culture and traditions can be found across areas of South-West Ghana and the South East region of the Ivory Coast.

Goldweights were part of Akan goldsmith tradition for approximately five centuries, and it was only the introduction of British currency in the nineteenth century which saw their use gradually decline. The weights themselves were not made of gold. They were brass objects used to measure out precise amounts of gold dust (the former currency of the Akan people) during business transactions. They came in a variety of weights due to the need to measure out different quantities of gold dust. A standard unit of gold dust was called a nsoanga and weighed 4.4g. Sixteen nsoansa would add up to a pereguan of 70.4g. Most traders did not need to haggle in weights above a pereguan so weights heavier than that were rare. However, those that did exist were called ‘chiefs’ weights’ and would have been used to measure out fines and village penalties. It is possible that systems such as this could be linked to the phrase ‘heavy fine’ we still use today.

As smiths became more skilled at working metal, the form these goldweights took became more elaborate. They could depict animals, birds, people, objects and abstract patterns by using a complicated and delicate process called the ‘lost wax technique’. My particular goldweight is shaped like a double-bladed sword. Swords such as this possess particular importance not only amongst the Akan people but the wider Ghanan community too. When the Ghanan President is sworn into office he holds a ceremonial double-bladed sword known as the Akofenata. This sword symbolises the impartiality, fairness and justice the president must show during his term in office.

Tom Phillips, an avid collector of Akan goldweights, summed up these small objects as:

‘a comprehensive three dimensional encyclopaedia of the fabric of society, its goods and actions, its characters and roles, its wealth of animals and birds; all things natural and made, with a scope of representation from the grandest chief in his pomp to the humblest tool for working the earth.’

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Christmas in the Collections

As the holiday season starts and Christmas rapidly approaches, we at Redmarley have been reflecting upon our festive favourites from the Research and Cultural Collections.  There are many objects that would make great gifts such as this child’s doll from the Danford Collection (you can read more about in our latest Campus Curiosity feature in Buzz magazine). From the Christmas cards of the Asante, to the ancient Egyptian inspiration for images of Mary and Jesus, to even an artist with the middle name ‘Christmas’ (!), this blog post introduces you to just some of the objects from the which cast a festive glow on the holiday season throughout history both near and afar.

Yoruba (Nigerian)

Child’s Doll, Research and Cultural Collections

John Piper (1903-1992)

Edmund Street, Birmingham,Research and Cultural Collections

One of the artists featured in the collection is John Egerton Christmas Piper (1903-1992). As the festive season draws closer we wondered: “why was his middle name ‘Christmas’?”

Originally we thought that it may have been due to his birthday being in December, but upon further research it turns out to be a family tradition. John Piper’s grandfather was called Charles Christmas Piper and it seems that John and his brother were each named after him, as his brother got the first name Charles and John got the middle name Christmas. This tradition then continued with one of John’s sons, Edward, who also was given the middle name Christmas.

Holly Fairbarn is a second year Ancient History student currently studying with Research and Cultural Collections for a Professional Skills Module. As part of this module, Holly is learning about the processes involved in working in museums including cataloguing, digitisation and writing for museum audiences.

Unknown

Christmas card featuring Otumfuo the Asantehene, Research and Cultural Collections 

This Christmas card is from the archive of photographic materials accompanying the Danford Collection of West African Art and Artefacts. It depicts the Asantehene, the king of the Asante, an ethnic group famed for their military strength, wealth, complicated hierarchies and the Ashanti Empire. The Asante are still thriving, with a population of around 7 million, over half of Ghana’s entire population. We think that this is Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II, who reigned from 1931 to 1970.

Ghana gained independence in 1957 but Christmas is still referred to as “bron ya,” meaning ‘to get from the white men,’ alluding to the adoption of the tradition from Europeans and the gifts given to slaves by their masters after working year-round. One of the most widely practiced Christmas traditions of the Asante is that of giving cards and stringing them up around the house as decorations, proving that the recipients have many friends that care about them.

Lily Gibbs, RCC volunteer and second year Anthropology and Classical Literature and Civilizations student.

Graeco-Roman Period (ca. 332 BC- AD 395)

Seated Isis suckling child Horus, Eton Myers Collection

This December, many homes will display a scene of the nativity, with figurines of the mother Mary, the newborn Christ, shepherds, wise men, and more.

In ancient Egypt, small faience and bronze figurines and amulets of a mother nursing a young boy were commonplace.  The mother depicted was the goddess Isis who was shown suckling her son Harpocrates (Horus-the-child). These amulets were most commonly worn by children and pregnant women, as Isis was a protective mother goddess of these vulnerable ancient peoples.

The imagery of the goddess wearing a horned sun-disc and breastfeeding an infant boy sees startling parallels to later images of the haloed Virgin Mary cradling and nursing the infant Jesus, so much so that some see the cult of Mary as a continuation of that of Isis. Whether or not the depictions of Mary and Jesus were inspired by the much earlier religious mother and son might never be known.

Stephanie Boonstra is a fourth year Egyptology PhD student and has recently joined the Redmarley team as Research and Cultural Collections Assistant.

Father Kevin Carroll (artist of the original piece)

Yoruba nativity scene, Research and Cultural Collections

This photograph of a photograph, of an oil on canvas, is a complex and thought provoking object from the Danford Collection of West African Art and Artefacts.

Irish Catholic missionary, Father Kevin Carroll, is the artist. He was at the forefront of the Catholic Churches outreach to post-war Africa. He established and ran art workshops with the Yoruba people in Nigeria. The Oye-Etiki workshops were a platform for the Catholic Church to expand into Africa and Father Carroll was revolutionary in teaching Yoruba artists the stories from the Christian New Testament and encouraging the artists to interpret these in their own cultural context.

The piece itself depicts the Nativity scene: the birth of Jesus and the visitation of the Magi (wise men) as written in the Gospel of Matthew. Yet, Carroll's work cleverly uses known Yoruba imagery to integrate the existing Ifa (Yoruba worship) customs into the established Christian tradition.

The Magi are depicted as Yoruba Oba (Kings) wearing ade, that is the headwear, and traditional Yoruba embroidered robes. The Oba carry offerings for Jesus.

The Rooster is one of the most common offerings made to the Orisha (Gods) in the Yoruba sacrificial system. The rooster in this instance signifies the acceptance of Jesus as a divine being. The Son of God for Christians. The Rooster is not just representative, it has a purpose. It is a Rooster shaped Olumeye - a storage container for Kola nuts. The Yoruba would be familiar with the Kola nut as a treat used to welcome guests in their homes, a gesture of hospitality and of friendship.

The second Oba also offers a vessel for nut storage. In this case palm nuts. Palm nuts are integral in Yoruba divination ritual. Specifically to consult with Orunmila, the Orisha of wisdom. During this ceremony the babalawo (Ifa priest) will place 16 palm nuts on a tray and consult Orisha for interpretation and instruction.

In utilising existing imagery, Carroll was able to show that Christianity was compatible with existing tradition. That a transition into European culture was not necessarily required to be accepting of the Christian faith and the Abrahamic God.

This photograph therefore gives us a fantastic opportunity to view the historic development of the Christian faith in Africa; an interesting juxtaposition between old and new beliefs at Christmas time.

Helen Waite, RCC volunteer and third year Theology student.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all! 

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The Fattening Room Girl

Post by Faustina Yawson 

Much of my placement at the Research and Cultural Collections has involved working closely with the Nicklin-Salmons Collection. This is a large array of carefully collected items that demonstrate the research and travels of art historian Jill Salmons and her husband Keith Nicklin. These over 250 items come from different African countries, and range from rare skin covered masks to fertility dolls. Yet the object I have chosen to focus on is that of the fatting room figurine.

Okun Akpan Ekanem

Fatting Room Figurine, 1970s, wood, Nicklin-Salmons Collection of Ethnography

I initially came across a picture of a fatting room girl while scanning the images taken during Salmons and Nicklin’s field research. I was instantly struck by the girl’s distinct appearance as, seated nobly with her hair parted and high, she radiated honour and dignity. To my delight I later came across the wooden figurine. The object, carved by Okun Akpan Ekanem of Ikot Ekpe, Ikot Ekpene division, was clearly inspired by the appearance of fatting room girls such as the individual in the above image. I decided that writing about this object would provide me with the opportunity to learn more about the fatting room’s significance.  

Keith Nicklin

Photograph of a fattening room girl, 1971, Nicklin-Salmons Collection of Ethnography

Across different cultures the movement from girlhood to womanhood is marked by a series of ceremonies. During their field research, Salmons and Nicklin studied the traditions and art works of the people of Calabar, a city in the Nigerian Cross River Region. For the Efik people of Calabar, the journey into womanhood is signified through the Iria ceremony, with the girls who partake in this called iriabos. Traditionally, the aim of Iria was to ensure that girls were properly prepared for their roles as mothers and wives. The rite’s main feature is the iriabos’ admission into fatting rooms: secluded areas or huts where girls are kept and prevented from undertaking strenuous work.

Before entering fatting huts, girls must present themselves to their village. During this procession the Iriabos’ virginity is inspected by elders and the women in charge of the ceremony, with a large emphasis placed on their chastity. Traditionally, female genital mutilation was a part of these ceremonial rites, but in recent times this practise has fallen out of favour and was officially banned in Nigeria in 2015.

For the inspection, the girls are painted with intricate designs that lace across their face, chest and arms, and are decorated with a chalk named ndom. The object’s artist Ekanem depicts the characteristics of fatting room girls in his own work. The symmetrical lines painted across the figurine’s body are similar to the patterns seen on Iriabos. Additionally the wooden figure is pink in colour, a nod to the Iriabos’ practise of covering themselves with ndom.

Once their chastity has been assessed, the Iriabos are then allowed to enter their separate fatting rooms. They are also fed large amounts of whichever food they desire, and ordered to get plenty of rest. It is important that girls gain weight, as it is thought that this will help them with conceiving and bearing children, furthermore largeness was traditionally a sign of wealth and beauty in many Nigerian cultures. Though, in recent times this perception of beauty has given way to a more Eurocentric preference for a slim and slender frame.

There are an additional number of distinct outward features that mark out Iriabos, many of which are depicted in the figurine. The rings tied around the figure’s legs represent the copper wires Iriabos wear to restrict their movement, as the purpose of the fatting room is relaxation. Additionally the figurine sports a distinct coiffure, with her hair parted into large spheres across her head, much like the individual in the image. While some girls shave their hair for the ceremony, other cultures have adopted this hairstyle.

Once the isolation period is up, through a ceremony attended by the whole community, the Iriabos celebrate their leaving the fatting room. They are adorned with coral jewellery, as seen on the figurine, and present themselves to their community and potential suitors.

This large celebration marks the Iriabos’ first step into womanhood. While coming out was traditionally followed by marriage, many girls who now complete this rite look to other personal goals such as finishing their education. While this ceremony was initially intended as preparation for marriage, it is also a deeply personal journey that signifies how women seek to define themselves, as they enter a new stage in life. The evolving interpretation of this rite was further evident in the recent series Fattening Room. In which a group of modern African women experienced the ceremony, learning to both reconcile and challenge traditional ideas of womanhood. While the tradition wains, it is crucial that works of art such as Ekanem’s wooden figure continue to draw attention to this practise, keeping its legacy alive.

Special thanks to Jill Salmons for all the reading suggestions and information provided.  

Further Reading

Abel Crespo, Emily Duque and Diana Zuhlsdorf, Iria Ritual; A Celebration of Feminism or Femininity?

Pamela J. Brink, The Fattening Room in Nigeria.

Pamela J. Brink, The Fattening Room revisited.

Patricia Levy, Nigeria

Imo Nse Imeh, Daughters of Seclusion: The Revelation of the Ibibio ‘Fattened Bride as the Icon of Beauty and Power (Black Studies and Critical Thinking)

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Masquerade in the Cross River Region and craft practices

Post by Anna Young

This week marks the final week of Masquerade in the Cross-River Region: the Nicklin-Salmons Collection. This exhibition celebrates the imminent donation of the Nicklin-Salmons Collection of Ethnography to the Research and Cultural Collections. The exhibition introduces highlights of the wider gift and features photography taken during Keith Nicklin’s fieldwork in the Cross-River region of Nigeria and Cameroon in the 1970s. These photographs vividly bring to life masquerade, mask art forms and the production of masks.

Masquerade in the Cross River Region

Image Credit: Patrick Dandy

Keith Nicklin’s research initially focused on the production of skin-covered masks, but he was also documenting wider craft practices such as the making of traditional clothing, bark cloth, raffia cloth weaving and screw pine matting. Nicklin devised ways of encouraging often very old craftsmen to demonstrate their skills to him in order to document and record these declining skills by video and photo. He called this process the ‘ethnographic retrieval method’.

The Danford Collection of West African Art and Artefacts contains objects that reflect these traditional craft practices, for example bark cloth manufacture. Traditions of bark cloth manufacture predate the development of woven textiles in most parts of Africa. The process and materials of production are similar across Africa but whilst Nicklin was studying bark cloth in Nigeria, it originated from the Baganda people of Southern Uganda.  

Bark cloth is thought to be the world’s oldest type of textile and the Baganda were most likely the originators of the practice in Africa. The Baganda process of manufacturing bark cloth has been declared a masterpiece of world intangible heritage by Unesco.

Bark cloth is made by processing the bark from trees from the mulberry and fig family.  In Nigeria, this is made from the Oro tree (Antiaris toxicaria or Antiaris) whereas in Uganda, it’s the Mutaba tree (Ficus natalensis or Natal Fig). The process of production is the same no matter the variant of tree.

The first layer of bark is stripped off to reveal a softer second layer, which is peeled off in large sheets. Banana leaves are then wrapped around the exposed tree to allow it to regrow the next year.  This means that the cloth is a sustainable resource and as such, many designers interested in sustainable fashion have started using the cloth.

The bark is boiled for a short time - some say to enrich the final colour, others say it is to keep the moisture in - then placed on a log and a series of beaters or mallets (nsammo) are used to pound the bark into a cloth. 

Baganda (Uganda)

Ridged beater for making barkcloth, wood, Research and Cultural Collections

The grooves on the nsammo are designed to stretch the fibres of the bark and it’s made from dense hardwood to pound the bark thin.  Other types of nsammo are used at different stages of the process - sometimes they’re shaped like a baseball bat and ridged along the length of the tool to stretch the fibres the opposite way.  The process is fairly labour intensive: it takes up to 5 hours of pounding, rolling and re-stretching.  Over this time, the bark becomes a thick but supple cloth.  It is stretched a final time, then laid outside to dry and develop its signature rust colour.  

Barkcloth sample from the Danford handling collection

Bark cloth was the traditional cloth used for ceremonial clothing, shrouds for the dead, bedding and home decoration.  Whilst bark cloth was supplanted by cotton and other woven textiles as an everyday fabric in the late 19th century, there has been a recent resurgence in the manufacture and wearing of bark cloth in Uganda. Contemporary textile designers and artists interested in exploring traditional methods and cultural practices are using the cloth and more Ugandans are buying clothes made from the material as a way of representing their heritage.

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Volunteering at Research and Cultural Collections

I first applied to volunteer at the Research and Cultural Collections in November last year, following a lifelong interest in the Heritage sector. During my few months there, a multitude of tasks have been given to me that have increased my skillset in many areas, and that have helped me to understand the inner workings of the industry in ways I had never considered.

Rachael working in the Danford Collection

My first task certainly took me by surprise - I was sent around campus to take a selfie! Unbeknownst to me it was ‘museum selfie’ day, however over the next few weeks, the roles I was given were more straightforward! In my second and third weeks I helped catalogue collections, and was soon writing a blog post. I am currently working on an exhibition based on my reaction to the collections, so there has certainly been a variety of work for me to do!

All of these tasks have been invaluable to improving both my understanding and capabilities within the heritage sector. As unusual as ‘museum selfie’ day first felt, it was a quick and important lesson into the online aspect of heritage, as the internet grants us a much larger opportunity to showcase objects than we have ever had before. I learned many practical skills as well however - it wasn’t until after a session on the correct packaging of objects that I learnt there was such an art to folding tissue paper! The RCC has taught me much about the maintenance of collections, and how to properly care for them. Through writing blog posts I have improved my ability to write about collections in a clear and concise manner, in order to appeal to as large an audience as possible.

It has been fascinating to delve into the collections, and learn about their unusual and unexpected histories. I’ve been given the opportunity to research everything from Yoruba dance masks, to souvenir china, an experience which vastly increased my appreciation of the collections outside my specialist area. In all, volunteering at the RCC has not only contributed to my understanding of the sector but has also been a lot of fun!

Rachel Banes

1st Year Ancient History Student

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OBJECT IN FOCUS: ASANTE GOLDWEIGHT

Asante

Goldweight, Cast brass, Research and Cultural Collections

This beautiful object was the inspiration for the Focus on Curating project, and acted as an instrumental example in RCC's funding bid to the Marches Network. 

You can find out more about this goldweight at RCC's Redmarley blog. 

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Object in Focus: Asante Goldweight

Asante

Goldweight, Cast brass, Research and Cultural Collections

  Post by Professor Tom McCaskie

Object in Focus selected by Dr Maxim Bolt 

Coordinated by Nadia Awal

This goldweight was used to measure gold dust in what is now Ghana. For the forest kingdom of Asante, which expanded as a great imperial power in the 18th and 19th centuries, gold dust was central. The pre-eminent domestic currency, it was the universal value into which all else – land, subjects, goods – was translated. 

Like other West African currencies, gold dust challenges a common assumption: that money means equal exchange. Exchange depended on social standing. In Asante, kings’ and chiefs’ goldweights were heavier: the same official measure meant more actual money.

Meanwhile, gold dust was an international currency, connecting Asante northward across the Muslim Sahara and south into the European Atlantic. Gold weights speak of these connections. They developed from a system of measurement based on Saharan and Portuguese coins. And they were manufactured by melting European brass, including manillas that were themselves a currency. 

This weight is in the form of an Asante stool (dwa), a symbol of chiefly power, but others might be in the form of significant animals, artefacts, or the illustration of proverbs and folk- tales.