"The First Day of the Yam Custom" by @godfrieddonkor at @gallery1957 . Godfried Donkor’s new body of work reimagines an illustration by the 19th century English explorer Thomas Bowdich, now held in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London and thought to be the first recorded image of the visual aesthetic and culture of the Asante region of Ghana. Created in 1818,The First Day of the Yam Custom depicts a procession from the annual Asante yam festival in Kumasi, an event held to mark the first harvest of yams during the autumn season. Sent to West Africa by the Royal African Company – a British commerce corporation – Bowdich was employed to negotiate a treaty with the king of the Asante region: Osei Bonsu. Bowdich’s image, and verbal description of the 1817 procession, was documented in his resulting publication, Mission From Cape Coast Castle to Asantee. . . 📷: Nana Osei - 2017 . . #gallery1957 #Accra #Ghana #Africa #art #firstdayoftheyamcustom #godfrieddonkor #painting #history #asante #british #goldenstool #asantehene #oseibonsu #thomasbowdich #illustration #trade #documentation #streetstyle #artphotography #exhibition (at Gallery 1957)
