Goldweight with geometric pattern / Artist Unknown, African, Akan-Speaking Peoples, Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1997/1.491
- Title
- Goldweight with geometric pattern
- 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
- 3.9 cm x 1.2 cm x 0.5 cm (1 9/16 in. x 1/2 in. x 3/16 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Metalwork
- Primary Object Type
- goldweight
- Physical Description
- Goldweight in the shape of a rectangle, bearing a geometric pattern with a zigzag line along one side and edged teeth along the other.
- Subject Matter
- Goldweights have long been used and produced by the Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Many weights show patterns consisting of spirals, circles, waves, zigzag lines, bars, edged teeth, bows, or crosses. Scholars differ in their interpretation of these geometric weights. Most argue that the similarities between Akan goldweights and their Roman and Islamic counterparts indicate that Akan-speaking peoples adapted weight forms from their North African trading partners for their own use in the context of the gold trade. Other scholars maintain that the graphic patterns on Akan goldweights represent a symbolic language of indigenous origin. Following this interpretation, the goldweight under consideration here would show the combined symbols of the sun (the zigzag line) and the moon (the edged teeth), or the potentially harmful rays of the "Fire of Heaven" and the life-giving rays of the Moon.
- Secondary Keywords
- africa (continent)
- descriptors
- design elements
- geographic and political locations
- goldweights
- motifs
- 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
- 180 KB
- Record
- 1997/1.491
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1997-sl-1.491/1997_1.491.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1997-SL-1.491:1997_1.491.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Goldweight with geometric pattern; 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-1.491/1997_1.491.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 03, 2024.
