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
1997/1.500
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
2.6 cm x 2.1 cm x 0.3 cm (1 in. x 13/16 in. x 1/8 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Metalwork
Primary Object Type
goldweight
Physical Description
Goldweight in the shape of a square base, bearing a geometric pattern with squares and triangles in the center and edged teeth along two 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, edged teeth, bows, or crosses. Scholars differ in their interpretation of these graphic 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 under consideration here would show symbol of conception (the spiral and half-circle next to it) as well as a double crescent of the moon, pointing up and down (the other half-circles).
Primary Keywords
geometric motifs
ghana (nation)
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
3888 x 2592
File Size
276 KB
Record
1997/1.500
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1997-sl-1.500/1997_1.500.jpg

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Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1997-SL-1.500:1997_1.500.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-1.500/1997_1.500.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 27, 2024.
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