Goldweight with geometric pattern / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire

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About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number
1997/1.402
Title
Goldweight with geometric pattern
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)
Dimensions
1.5 cm x 1.6 cm x 1.1 cm (9/16 in. x 5/8 in. x 7/16 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Metalwork
Primary Object Type
goldweight
Physical Description
Goldweight in the shape of a square base, with a geometric pattern derived from a swastika form.
Subject Matter
The shape known as swastika in the West, and variations of this form, is a common motif on the goldweights (and other objects) used and produced by Akan-speaking peoples since the 15th century. Informants from contemporary Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire give a number of interpretations for this form. It is sometimes called "asosa," or "monkey's hand," because of its supposed resemblance to the footprint of the colubus monkey. Alternatively, the form can be called "dindje blafou," or "crossed crocodiles," which refers to the idea that it is a stylized rendering of a common Akan motif and proverb: two crocodiles sharing one stomach. Finally, informants and scholars have interpreted the swastika-form and its derivatives as variations of the bow-armed cross, referred to as "nkyinkyim," which is also used as a shaved hairstyle by the maidservants of a queen-mother.
Primary Keywords
geometric motifs
ghana (nation)
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
3888 x 2592
File Size
119 KB
Record
1997/1.402
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1997-sl-1.402/1997_1.402.jpg

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Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1997-SL-1.402:1997_1.402.JPG

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"Goldweight with geometric pattern; 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-1997-sl-1.402/1997_1.402.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 29, 2024.
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