African

This dagger is one of many of its class categorized by its use of curved blades and scabbards (the blade cover). This type of blade was prevalent in the northwestern region of Africa, spanning from Morocco to northeastern Yemen. The scabbard features a tight, sharp, spiraling, floral pattern across the front, with a spearhead design [...]

The booming gold trade in Ghana led to the creation of abrammuo, or gold weights. Abrammuo were made of brass and were used to regulate the gold trade to allow for a greater degree of accuracy that was much needed from the 14th century onwards. This abrammuo takes the form of a drummer. The meticulous [...]

This textile, created in the Kuba Kingdom of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shows off the complexity of design that the Kuba Kingdom was known for in their textiles. The Kuba Kingdom was  highly prosperous, uniting 19 different ethnic groups between the early seventeenth century and mid-nineteenth century. The cloth had [...]

In Nigeria, the Yoruba peoples see twins as possessing magical qualities. Twins are believed to be descendants of Shango, the thunder god, and are therefore known as Thunder Children. In the native tongue of the Yoruba peoples twins are known as Ibejis. If a twin dies a figure is created to house the spirit and [...]