Goldweight in the shape of an axe / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1986/2.131
- Title
- Goldweight in the shape of an axe
- Artist Nationality
- Ghanaian
- Medium and Support
- brass
- Object Creation Date
- 1900-1985
- Object Creation Place
- Africa (continent)
- Akan (historical region)
- Creation Place 1
- Africa (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Akan (historical region)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Milford Golden
- Dimensions
- 4.1 cm x 2.2 cm x 0.3 cm (1 5/8 in. x 7/8 in. x 1/8 in.)
- Century
- Possibly 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Metalwork
- Primary Object Type
- goldweight
- Physical Description
- Goldweight in the shape of an axe, with a smooth handle attached to a rounded top with an inserted, triangular blade.
- Subject Matter
- Farming tools are a rather common motif among figurative gold weights. Akan-speaking peoples in what are now Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire have used and produced weights to weigh amounts of gold dust for mercantile transactions from at least the 15th century onwards. This example shows an axe in the form that is typical for the Asante region: a handle, which is ticker at one end, through which an iron blade is mounted. Axes like these were used to fell of trees and chop wood.
- Figurative gold weights were sometimes related to one or more of the many proverbs that have play a prominent role in Asante (and related Akan) language and culture. However, it is often hard to tell whether an individual weight was intended to signify a proverb or not, and if so, which one, or how this particular proverb would have been understood by the speakers and listeners in a specific context. Thus, it might be that this example of a gold weight in the shape of an axe was intended to evoke the proverb "no matter what the dispute, it must be settled by arbitration, not an axe," but we do not know for sure that it was always used or understood in this way. In fact, an incident where the King of the Asante sent a golden axe to the British colonial rulers in 1881 shows that the British were not sure how to take the symbolism of the axe or the proverbs associated with it-- did it refer to war or to peace?
- Secondary Keywords
- africa (continent)
- cutting equipment
- cutting tools
- equipment
- equipment by process
- geographic and political locations
- goldweights
- objects
- objects we use
- tools and equipment
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 3888 x 2592
- File Size
- 119 KB
- Record
- 1986/2.131
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1986-sl-2.131/1986_2.131.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1986-SL-2.131:1986_2.131.JPG
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- Full citation
-
"Goldweight in the shape of an axe; Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1986-sl-2.131/1986_2.131.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 19, 2024.