Goldweight in the shape of a fowl's head / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire

About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number

1997/1.469

Title

Goldweight in the shape of a fowl's head

Artist

Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire

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. James and Vivian Curtis

Dimensions

1.5 cm x 2.7 cm x 0.6 cm (9/16 in. x 1 1/16 in. x 1/4 in.)

Century

20th century

Primary Object Classification

Metalwork

Primary Object Type

goldweight

Physical Description

Goldweight in the shape of the head of a chicken.

Subject Matter

This figurative goldweight in the shape of a fowl's head is associated with a number of proverbs among the various Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. For example, one proverb states "How big is a fowl's head that they should be striking at it"-- which means that the head is not big enough to warrant one hitting it, at least if one doesn't want to kill the fowl altogether! Thus, this proverb (and the gold weight representing it) might caution the appropriate use of force and warn against the dangers of excessive force. Alternatively, in another context, this gold weight might be associated with the proverb, "If you have no child, it is yourself who will eat the chicken's head"-- meaning that a childless person must look after him or her self and has no help to call on. Indeed, many of the Akan gold weights that are linked to proverbs (primarily those depicting humans, animals, and some artifacts) can be "read" in more than one way, especially when the weight represents only one object or person in isolation.

Primary Keywords

chickens

Secondary Keywords

animals and creatures

birds

goldweights

Rights

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Technical Details

Collection

University of Michigan Museum of Art

Image Size

3888 x 2592

File Size

150 KB

Record

1997/1.469

Link to this Item

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1997-sl-1.469/1997_1.469.jpg content_copy

Related Links

IIIF

Manifest

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1997-SL-1.469:1997_1.469.JPG content_copy