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
1997/1.486
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
5.4 cm x 1.2 cm x 0.4 cm (2 1/8 in. x 1/2 in. x 3/16 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Metalwork
Primary Object Type
goldweight
Physical Description
Goldweight in the shape of a rectangular base, with a geometric pattern consisting of rectangular forms in the center and a single undulating line along the two long edges.
Subject Matter
Goldweights have long been used and produced by the Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Many weights show patterns consisting of spirals, circles, waves, zigzag lines, bars, comb-shapes, bows, or crosses. Scholars differ in their interpretation of these geometric weights. Most argue that the similarities between Akan goldweights and their Roman and Islamic counterparts indicate that Akan-speaking peoples adapted weight forms from their North African trading partners for their own use in the context of the gold trade. Other scholars maintain that the graphic patterns on Akan goldweights represent a symbolic language of indigenous origin. Following this interpretation, the goldweight shown here shows the ideogram for the Fire of Heaven, that is, lightning and the potentially harmful rays of the sun. This would be an appropriate symbol on a goldweight, considering that gold is often considered as fire.
Primary Keywords
geometric motifs
ghana (nation)
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
3888 x 2592
File Size
286 KB
Record
1997/1.486
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1997-sl-1.486/1997_1.486.jpg

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Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1997-SL-1.486:1997_1.486.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-1.486/1997_1.486.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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