Sika dwa ko (Golden Stool)

Sika dwa ko (Golden Stool). Ashanti peoples (south central Ghana). c. 1700 C.E. Gold over wood and cast-gold attachments.

• Incredibly important to the Ashanti peoples, still used today; falls from the sky, miraculous object; wooden stool covered in gold, a symbol; more important than the ruler; sacred; symbolises royalty of Ashanti people; area rich in gold; responsible for gold trade in North Africa; gold reserved for royal use
• Taken by colonisers; Ashanti people hid the object; British hunted it down. Stools/inanimate objects valued in this culture; objects hold personal aura, the soul of the person. The gold stool is the soul of the Ashanti nation.