Object Details
- Description
- These brass weights were used by the Akan people of modern day Ghana and the Ivory Coast for measuring gold dust between the late thirteenth and early twentieth centuries. They were cast into geometric shapes and figures of animals and people. These weights set a standard for measuring gold dust and made it easier to use gold dust as currency. The weights’ varied forms reflect Akan culture as well as cultural interaction between West African, North African, and European traders over five centuries.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Raymond Hebert
- n.d.
- ID Number
- 1988.0817.01
- catalog number
- 1988.0817.01
- accession number
- 1988.0817
- Object Name
- Gold Weight, Male Figure
- alternative currency
- Other Terms
- Gold Weight, Male Figure; Africa; West, Ashanti
- Physical Description
- bronze (overall material)
- bronze/gray (overall color)
- cast (overall production method/technique)
- Measurements
- overall: 5.62 cm x 3.13 cm x 2.01 cm; 2 7/32 in x 1 7/32 in x 25/32 in
- place used
- Ghana
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
- West African Currency
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_1068461
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-0b31-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
