Akan gold weight, Two men and a vase of liquid
Date: n.d.
Dimensions:
H: 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm); L: 1 9/16 in. (4 cm); W: 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm); Weight: 57.91 grams
Medium: Brass.
Place of Origin: Ghana
Classification: Metalwork
Credit Line: Gift of the Popplestone Family
Object number: 2006.77
Label Text:Gold was the basis of Asante prosperity from the 14th through the 19th centuries. Miniature sculptures served as weights to measure gold dust on balance scales. Each trader, chief, and family head kept a small bag filled with his own weights, both for verifying accuracy and for the pleasure of assembling “exhibitions” of tiny sculptures as part of each bargain. Ashabti art often incorporates messages and proverbs. The meaning of the sculpture of two human figures is not yet certain, but it might be “A blind man does not show the way to a blind man.”
Not on view
In Collection(s)