Book excerpt: This volume catalogs the impressive gold collection held by the Gold Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. It illustrates and surveys an enormous range of ornamental objects from the Sahel and the central West African forest regions. The pieces date from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and include headdresses, rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and items of royal regalia. Many are decorated with figurative motifs such as birds, fish, and fruit, symbols which refer to local proverbs. Magnificent displays of gold intended as demonstrations of a tribal chiefís power and prestige are still worn today in ceremonial occasions. Through his research in the area Timothy F. Garrard, the worldís foremost authority on goldsmith art from the African continent, became acquainted with goldsmith techniques as well as the system of bartering and weighing. His commentary offers a historical and cultural context through which to view the pieces. AUTHOR: Timothy F. Garrard (b. 1943-d.2007) was a historian, archaeologist and lawyer who lived in Bouake on the Ivory Coast. During his lifetime he published numerous studies on the metal arts of West Africa and served as guest curator at the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva, Switzerland. ILLUSTRATIONS: 226 colour