A Kuduo Container, Ghana, with numerous figures standing around a bearded seated figure under an umbrella, an extremly fine and skillful bronze in lost wax manner; fine aged patina, different layers of oxidised bronze, signs of age and use.

Kuduo-container were created to store valuable possessions such as gold dust, and served the symbolic purpose of safeguarding their owners' kra, or life force. They played an important role in ceremonies intended to maintain the spiritual well-being of those who owned them. At life's end, kuduo were left at their owners' burial sites along with other personal possessions. If the kuduo belonged to a paramount chief, it would accompany his ceremonially blackened stool in a special room devoted to his spirit and memory. The latch mechanism typically displayed on the sides of such vessels refer to their role in retaining and protecting the souls of their owners.

"Ornate, cast brass vessels known as kuduo were the possessions of kings and courtiers in the Akan kingdoms. Gold dust and nuggets were kept in kuduo, as were other items of personal value and significance. As receptacles for their owners' kra, or life force, they were prominent features of ceremonies designed to honor and protect that individual. At the time of his death, a person's kuduo was filled with gold and other offerings and included in an assembly of items left at the burial site.
The elaborate form and complex iconography of this kuduo reveal the broad range of aesthetic traditions from which the Akan peoples have drawn to create their courtly arts. Goods from Europe and North Africa, received in exchange for Akan gold, textiles, and slaves, included vessels that may have partly inspired the design of this and other kuduo. The repeating bands of geometric patterns incised into the surface, as well as the elegantly flaring foot, body, and handle, may reflect Islamic influences. A latch mechanism on the exterior reflects the value of the materials kept within and alludes to the vessel's symbolic function of keeping its owner's kra secure." Source: MET, New York.

sold

Height: 28 cm
Weight: 1,6 kg