Goldweight in geometric shape / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1997/1.493
- Title
- Goldweight in 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)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis
- Dimensions
- 3.1 cm x 0.7 cm x 3 cm (1 1/4 in. x 1/4 in. x 1 3/16 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Metalwork
- Primary Object Type
- goldweight
- Physical Description
- Goldweight in the shape of a a solid, undecorated triangle with a differently-colored, filled-up hole in the middle and flat circles protruding from the three corners.
- Subject Matter
- Among the Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, goldweights have long been used to weigh off amounts of gold dust. This weight is an example of a particular kind of geometric weight, in which the weight itself takes on the shape of a particular geometric form (a triangle, in this case)-- in contrast to the weights where the geometric form is represented as a pattern on a solid or hollowed-out base. The reason that the middle of the weight has been hollowed out and filled with another material, possibly painted, is not known.
- Secondary Keywords
- africa (continent)
- descriptors
- design elements
- geographic and political locations
- goldweights
- motifs
- 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
- 146 KB
- Record
- 1997/1.493
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1997-sl-1.493/1997_1.493.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1997-SL-1.493:1997_1.493.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Goldweight in 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-1.493/1997_1.493.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 25, 2024.
