Rattle

West African rattle, 1873 (c). Wood with applied gold sheeting; cylindrical head filled with beads and chased with horizontal bands of stylised leaving; small knop in top central circle with gadroons at the bottom around the handle; cylindrical handle with concave sides and five bands, the central one impressed with herring bone pattern; inverted tear drop finial at base impressed with seven bands of herringbone incisions; small gold pins secure the metal to the wood; acquired during the 2nd Ashanti War at the Palace of King Kofi Karikari of the Ashanti Kingdom, Kumasi.