Goldweight in a geometric shape / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire

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About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number
1997/1.410
Title
Goldweight in a geometric shape
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
2.7 cm x 2.7 cm x 0.3 cm (1 1/16 in. x 1 1/16 in. x 1/8 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Metalwork
Primary Object Type
goldweight
Physical Description
Goldweight in the shape of four flat cubes with a geometrical pattern consiting of individual "stars", each attached to two other cubes at two of the corners.
Subject Matter
This example of a goldweight bearing a graphic motif might represent an amulet or a religious object whose function is unknown. Gold weights have been used in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire since the 15th century, primarily to weigh off amounts of gold dust to be used in mercantile transactions, but for other purposes as well. When the British outlawed the use of gold dust as currency at the end of the 19th century, the gold trade and the use of weights as part of this trade came to an end. However, gold weights' other uses, besides their role in trade, continued into the 20th century. For example, some gold weights were used as amulets to ward off evil and bring the wearer health or good fortune. Moreover, gold weights were also sometimes representations of the kinds of amulets or religious objects as which they were used.
Primary Keywords
geometric motifs
ghana (nation)
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
3888 x 2592
File Size
192 KB
Record
1997/1.410
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1997-sl-1.410/1997_1.410.jpg

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Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1997-SL-1.410:1997_1.410.JPG

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"Goldweight in a geometric shape; 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-1.410/1997_1.410.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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