Museum Explorer
Birds and beasts
in Africa
Gold elephants
From: Ghana (Asante)
Date: probably 19th century AD
This is a gold brooch which would have been worn by the Asantehene, the King of the Asante. It is shaped like three elephants in a row. To the Asante, one elephant means the power of a chief, and three together means the power of a king.
If you look carefully you can see two little birds riding on each gold elephant's back.
