M0019326: Gold badge worn by a man who is put to death when the King dies so that he may attend him in the next life, Ashanti

Previous title, replaced July 2022: Ghana-Badge worn by man who is put to death when the King dies

Photograph of a gold badge of a string band that would have been worn by a man chosen to the "Soul of the King" and attend him in the spirit world after his death. Ashanti, Ghana. It was purchased at auction by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in 1924 and accessioned in 1937 (accession number R4833/1937). It was removed from the Museum's holdings in 1965

January 1963

1 photograph sheet film negative; 10.2 x 12.7 cm

Wellcome Collection holds the accession register which provides an entry for the item: R4833/1937

Copyright is held by Wellcome Collection

Catalogue data comes from a combination of entries in the original glass plate registers, metadata created when the glass plates were digitised in the early 2000s and enhancements made by the cataloguer in 2022.

Please consult the digitised version as this item is fragile. Email library@wellcomecollection.org to request access to the physical item.