Kasena Stone Armband, Ghana

Thick dark ring, scored with fine scratches, stoutly round in profile.

This armband is Kasena, from Northern Ghana, West Africa. It is granite. Armbands and bracelets of stone, metal and ivory have been worn across West Africa, where they may signal age, status or belonging to a group. Heavy circular band with a rounded cross-section and a wide open center. The surface is deep brown-black with a soft sheen and fine criss-cross scratches around the outer face. The inner edge looks slightly rough. It is 0.5 inches deep and 3.6 in diameter.

No decoration, just the quiet nerve of being a perfect circle.