Goldweight in the shape of a coiled rope / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1986/2.133
- Title
- Goldweight in the shape of a coiled rope
- 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. and Mrs. Milford Golden
- Dimensions
- 3.5 cm x 0.7 cm (1 3/8 in. x 1/4 in.)
- Century
- Possibly 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Metalwork
- Primary Object Type
- goldweight
- Physical Description
- Goldweight in the shape of a coiled rope, tied together in the middle.
- Subject Matter
- Coiled ropes, like other knot and loop forms, are very common symbols represented in Akan goldweights. To this day, people in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire interpret the many variations of this form as "wisdom knots" (or "nyansapò" in Asante, an Akan language). Wisdom knots are associated with a number of proverbs, including: "Only the wise man can untangle the knot"-- which means that the higher position of rulers or superiors is based on their greater knowledge an experience. Alternatively, some local people have interpreted weights in the shape of bundles of cord, like this one, as wound-up lengths of plant fibers or leather strips. In the latter case, there is no particular proverb attached to this weight.
- Secondary Keywords
- africa (continent)
- cord (fiber product)
- descriptors
- fiber and fiber products
- fiber products
- geographic and political locations
- goldweights
- materials
- materials by form
- materials by physical form
- objects
- 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
- 122 KB
- Record
- 1986/2.133
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1986-sl-2.133/1986_2.133.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1986-SL-2.133:1986_2.133.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Goldweight in the shape of a coiled rope; 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-2.133/1986_2.133.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 25, 2024.
