Goldweight in the shape of a knife / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire
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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)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis
- 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.
- Secondary Keywords
- africa (continent)
- edged weapons
- geographic and political locations
- goldweights
- objects we use
- weapons
- weapons and ammunition
- 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
- 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
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1997-SL-1.473:1997_1.473.JPG
Cite this Item
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- 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.