Akofena Adinkra Beaded Wall Art, Hand Carved Wood, Ghana

A hand carved sese wood wall piece, about 25 by 25cm, in the shape of the Akofena adinkra symbol, two crossed swords, beaded in red, sky blue, yellow, orange and green glass seed beads. Akofena means sword of war, and among the adinkra symbols it stands for courage, valour and heroism. Where Gye Nyame is the symbol that says Ghana plainly, Akofena is the one to give someone who is about to do something brave: a new job, a first home, a hard year behind them. The maker carves the shape in Accra, then covers the whole face in seed beads stitched on one at a time, outlining each colour field in white so the swords read clearly from across a room. Each one takes a day or two to finish. The back is carved plain and fitted with a braided cord hanger, shown in the second photograph, so it goes straight on the wall. If you want the same craft in a mask, the maker also makes Gye Nyame and Sankofa beaded masks.