Goldweight in the shape of a man / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1985/2.42
- Title
- Goldweight in the shape of a man
- 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
- 8.7 cm x 2.2 cm x 2.4 cm (3 7/16 in. x 7/8 in. x 15/16 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Metalwork
- Primary Object Type
- goldweight
- Physical Description
- Goldweight in the shape of a man with a large head, tilted slightly backwards, on a thick, heavy neck, and topped by hair or headgear in the shape of a ball; the face has protruding eyes and nose, and the mouth holds a snake-like animal above a small beard (goatee). The figure is wearing a loincloth and holds a short stick under the left arm as well as two small jars in the hands.
- Goldweights are small objects cast from brass used to weigh out quantities of gold and gold dust. They are cast using a lost-wax casting technique, wherein wax is sculpted into the desired shape and a mold is pressed around the wax model. Then, the mold is heated and the wax drained out, leaving a void in the shape of the original wax model. Liquid brass is poured into the mold and allowed to set before the caster cracks the mold open and retrieves the finished goldweight.
- Subject Matter
- From about 1400 to 1900, the Asante and related Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire used small, portable weights for measuring out units of gold dust. At first, the gold weights were primarily geometric, following North African, European and Middle Eastern examples. From the 18th century onwards, figurative weights became popular, although geometric weights continued to be made too. This weight is a figurative weight, but it is not clear whether there was a particular meaning (often in the form of a proverb) attached to this piece.
- Secondary Keywords
- africa (continent)
- geographic and political locations
- goldweights
- human males
- man
- objects
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people and occupations
- people by gender
- sculpture
- sculpture by subject type
- statues
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- 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
- 211 KB
- Record
- 1985/2.42
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1985-sl-2.42/1985_2.42.jpg
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Related Links
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- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1985-SL-2.42:1985_2.42.JPG
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- Full citation
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"Goldweight in the shape of a man; 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-1985-sl-2.42/1985_2.42.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 16, 2024.