Abstract:Inspired by a conversation with Doran Ross (1947–2020), a leading African art scholar and curator who revolutionized the field of African art, this article discusses the adventures of fieldwork – in particular, its unpredictable nature. More specifically, it presents my experiences conducting an archaeological ethnography of nineteenth-century Islamic talismans in Asante (Ghana), and the matter of the “fake”. Islamic talismans comprise inscriptions written directly onto paper, folded, encased in a string bindi… Show more
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