POST-INDEPENDENCE DEVELOPMENTAL TRENDS OF THE GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY IN GHANA: A CASE STUDY OF ASANTES BY PEGGY AMA FENING (M.Phil. AFRICAN ART AND CULTURE) A dissertation submitted to the Department of General Art Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN AFRICAN ART AND CULTURE Faculty of Art, College of Art and Built Environment MAY, 2015 ©2015, Department of General Art Studies DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work towards the PhD degree in African Art and Culture and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the University, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. Mrs Peggy Ama Fening (1863807) ………………….... …..……………….. (Student’s Name and ID No.) Signature Date Dr Steve Kquofi ………………….... …..……………….. (Supervisor’s Name) Signature Date Dr. Eric Appau Asante ………………….... …..……………….. (Supervisor’s Name) Signature Date Dr. Steve Kquofi ………………….... …..……………….. (Head of Department’s Name) Signature Date ii ABSTRACT This thesis studied the developmental trend of gold the jewellery industry in Ghana since independence with particular reference to the Asantes. As at the year 2011 Ghana was rated the world’s 9th largest producer of gold and the 2nd in Africa. However, its gold jewellery industry accounts for very little percentage of the world production total. This discrepancy is an issue of concern since currently Ghana derives the bulk of its revenue from gold. Value addition to the nation’s gold jewellery industry will improve the nation’s fortunes significantly. The qualitative method of research was employed to gather and synthesize the data. Results obtained indicated that all the craftsmen involved in the jewellery industry were Ghanaians who were full time practioners, with a sizeable number (28%) of them being females, majority of whom are graduates from tertiary institutions. The issue of raw gold acquisition and absence of a refinery were observed to be major problems facing the industry. It was also observed during the field visit that much of the machinery being used by the craftsmen were outmoded. The use of the adinkra symbols was found to be the most popular or new trend of all the designs being used by the jewellers as the majority (75%) of the jeweller admitted using them. The apprenticeship system of training continues to provide the skill in the industry. It was evident from the interaction with traditional rulers that the socio-political and cultural roles of jewellery in Asante still survive despite the influence of education, religion and globalization. The study concluded that for Ghana to ensure a sustainable gold jewellery industry growth a concerted effort will be required by all the stakeholders (including, government, non -governmental agencies, jewellery industry and private sector players) to take full advantage of the country’s significant endowment in gold and urgently take steps to revamp the industry. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my dear husband, Dr. J. O. Fening and children, Kwadwo Opoku Fening and Kwadwo Nyantakyi Fening. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank the Almighty God for helping and sustaining me through this programme. Thanks to personalities that assisted the researcher through interviews and questionnaire, such as the Jewellers' Association in Kumasi, Traditional and family elders, Goldsmiths and jewellers in Kumasi, Jewellery retailers and distributors in Asafo, Adum, Ashanti New Town and Central Market. As always, there are people without whose help this thesis could not have been written. In no particular order but with equal gratitude for their knowledge, support and expertise, I wish to sincerely thank the following: Dr. Eric Asante Appau, Dr Steve Kquofi and Mr. K. A. Asomaning and all the staff of the Department of Industrial Art. A special thanks and gratitude also go to Dr. Adu-Agyem the Head of Department, Department of General Art Studies for his encouragement and recommendations. I am also indebted to my taught course lecturers, Dr. Osei Agyeman and Dr. B. K. Dogbe for reading through the initial write up. I also wish to render my sincere gratitude to all my students, who in diverse ways supported the writing of this thesis, especially Mr. Peter Bamfo, Miss Lucy Kwakye and Mr. Reagan Sarpong. Special thanks are extended to all my course mates who pursued the same course with me, Dr. Mrs Helena Asamoah-Hassan, Dr. (Mrs) Regina Oppong Kwakye and Rev. Dr. Kwame Ansong for their contribution, support and encouragement towards the completion of this work. My outmost gratitude to the workers of CSRI-SRI Mr. K. A. Nketia and Miss Regina Opoku for their various help. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION........................................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION.............................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ vi LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... xv LIST OF MAPS.......................................................................................................................... xvi LIST OF PLATES .................................................................................................................... xvii CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background to the Study ....................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 7 1.5 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Importance of Study .............................................................................................................. 8 1.7 Delimitation ........................................................................................................................... 8 vi 1.8 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................... 9 1.9 Research Methodology ........................................................................................................ 11 1.9.1 Historical and Descriptive Methods ............................................................................. 11 1.10 Facilities Available for the Study ...................................................................................... 12 1.11 Organization of the Rest of the Text ................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................ 14 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ............................................................................... 14 2.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................. 14 2.2. Jewellery............................................................................................................................. 14 2.3. Early history of Jewellery .................................................................................................. 15 2.4. Forms and Function of Jewellery ....................................................................................... 16 2.4.1 Jewellery as a Form of Protection ................................................................................ 17 2.4.2 Jewellery as an Art for Body Adornment ..................................................................... 17 2.5. Jewellery Making Materials ............................................................................................... 20 2.5.1 Gold .............................................................................................................................. 20 2.5.2 Silver ............................................................................................................................. 21 2.5.3 Copper .........................................................................................................................