Goldweight in the shape of a man hoeing / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1986/2.128
- Title
- Goldweight in the shape of a man hoeing
- Artist Nationality
- Ghanaian
- Medium and Support
- brass
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1970
- Object Creation Place
- Africa (continent)
- Akan (historical region)
- Creation Place 1
- Africa (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Akan (historical region)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Milford Golden
- Dimensions
- 4.1 cm x 1.3 cm x 1.9 cm (1 5/8 in. x 1/2 in. x 3/4 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Metalwork
- Primary Object Type
- goldweight
- Physical Description
- Goldweight in the shape of a man, wearing a loin cloth and wielding a hoe against a large, oval object, sitting on a flat, square base.
- Subject Matter
- The Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire have long used weights to weigh the gold dust exchanged in mercantile transactions. Figurative weights such as this one begin to appear in the 18th century, and some of these representations might be associated with one or more of the many proverbs that play a crucial role in many Akan societies. This does not mean that the interpretation of the meaning attached to a particular gold weight is always straightforward. For example, this example of a man wielding a hoe might refer to the proverb, "In order to survive one must work"-- a reference to the importance of hard work. But in another context, an individual might use the same material form of the hoe to convey a very different message: the feeling that the branching tree of one's family has been severed from its roots because one's mother has died. In order to understand the socio-cultural context for this message, it helps to know that most Akan-speaking peoples are matrilineal, and also that the hoe here is often associated with cemeteries and death. Yet even with this background information, the interpretation remains open-ended, because there is no direct correspondence between the figure and its message.
- Secondary Keywords
- africa (continent)
- geographic and political locations
- goldweights
- 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
- 162 KB
- Record
- 1986/2.128
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1986-sl-2.128/1986_2.128.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1986-SL-2.128:1986_2.128.JPG
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- Full citation
-
"Goldweight in the shape of a man hoeing; 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-1986-sl-2.128/1986_2.128.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 20, 2024.
