Context (CMS Context)
See Spooner photo no. 8 in Collection file for object in Spooner family home.
Event Date 26/10/2015
Author: Remke van der Velden

Context (CMS Context)
The Spooner Collection was acquired by Arthur Casswell Spooner (1906-1996) during his colonial service in West Africa between 1929-1963, and also by his wife Sylvia from 1944. Following the Cambridge Colonial Service diploma (Clare College, 1928-9), he was posted to the Gold Coast in July 1929 as a Cadet in the Administrative Service. He was soon appointed Assistant District Commissioner and served in various areas of Ashanti and the Northern Territories until 1938. His tasks comprised office and court work as well as much travelling through the district.

In 1939 Spooner was seconded as Commissioner of the Labour Department in Kumasi, and in 1942 was appointed Assistant Director of Labour, General Headquarters West African Command, involved in raising Pioneer Groups in Sierra Leone and Nigeria primarily for the North African campaign. He was a member of the Gold Coast Defence Force and in 1942 appointed as a temporary Lieutenant Colonel. He married Sylvia Blest in Accra in 1944 and she accompanied him on all his postings. In 1945 he returned to the Administrative Service, and was appointed Senior District Commissioner, Ashanti, in 1946 and in 1951 Assistant Chief Commissioner of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast He retired in 1952, returning to the UK to work for Eastbury Estates Ltd.

He returned to Africa in 1956, working for the Gambian Government in the Establishments and Training Department until 1959. From 1961 to 1963 he was employed by the Government of Northern Nigeria to run the Resident's offices in Makurdi and Ilorin.

Following discussion with MAA from 2005 onwards the object and photograph collections were donated in 2015 by Sylvia's son Professor Edward T. Spooner per the Spooner family, with material also going to the teaching collections.

Arthur Spooner's correspondence and papers, 1928-95, are held at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. Several items (including Konkomba dancing hats), copies of photographs and their associated copyright and a telegram relevant to the purchase of Sylvia Spooner's wedding ring were also given to the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum c.2008.
Event Date 22/9/2015
Author: Remke van der Velden

Context (CMS Context)
Notes by Arthur Spooner typed by his wife, Sylvia
read: 'Again carved by Osei Bonsu. Fetish man- Bosam ‘komfo’ with his Afona in one hand and an ostrich egg in the other’ [Always regarded as a portrait. Spooner knew his son well. Would like to make 3D scan and give to Royal family] '. R. v.d. Velden, 22/09/2015.
Event Date 22/9/2015
Author: maa

Description (Physical description)
Light wooden carving of a male 'fetish man' or 'Bosam 'komfo''. With curved sword 'afona' with bulbous handle in right hand and ostrich egg in left hand. With carved circular hat, neck ornament and waist cloth. The arm with the egg has at one point broken off at the wrist. This has been repaired with ?glue. A round circular white mark on the bottom of the left foot has the no. '12' written on it. The same number is repeated on the right foot on a white paper label.
Event Date 22/9/2015
Author: maa

Context (References)
Photographed as part of the Art UK Sculpture project, August - September 2019. The project aims to create a free-to-access online photographic showcase of publicly owned sculpture. The three-year project focuses on sculpture dating from the last 1,000 years, held in public collections and outdoor locations across the UK
Event Date 3/6/2020
Author: rachel hand

Description (Physical description)
A sculpture by Osei Bonsu. A carved wooden figure of a man, Bosam 'komfo' in light brown wood. He is depicted standing upright and wearing a large, circular headpiece, a neck ornament and a waist cloth. He is holding his afona, a curved sword, in his right hand. In his left hand he holds an ostrich egg and his arm is adorned with two bracelets. His ankles each have two anklets.
Event Date 7/9/2021
Author: Annie Tomkins