Goldweight in the shape of a knife / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire

Viewer

Actions

file_download Download image 243 x 162 (JPEG) 486 x 324 (JPEG) 972 x 648 (JPEG) 1944 x 1296 (JPEG) 3888 x 2592 (JPEG)

About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number
1997/1.473
Title
Goldweight in the shape of a knife
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
6.7 cm x 1.5 cm x 0.6 cm (2 5/8 in. x 9/16 in. x 1/4 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Metalwork
Primary Object Type
goldweight
Physical Description
Goldweight in the shape of a knife with a curved, rounded tip.
Subject Matter
A broad variety of weaponry is represented as goldweights, including shields, swords, guns, cannons, daggers, and especially knives-- such as in this example. At the time when the Akan-speaking brass casters (from what are now Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire) represented these weapons as weights, many of them were no longer actually used for hunting or fighting, but survived only as ceremonial regalia. Weights representing military and royal items are part of a larger trend towards representational weights in the 18th and 19th century; previously, brass casters had primarily produced geometric weights, and geometric weights continued to outnumber representational forms throughout the history of their production.
Primary Keywords
ghana (nation)
knives (weapons)
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

Image Size
3888 x 2592
File Size
136 KB
Record
1997/1.473
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1997-sl-1.473/1997_1.473.jpg

Rights and Permissions

Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1997-SL-1.473:1997_1.473.JPG

Cite this Item

View the Help Guide for more information.

Full citation
"Goldweight in the shape of a knife; 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-1.473/1997_1.473.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
Do you have questions about this content? Need to report a problem? Please contact us.