H x W x D: 11.2 x 3.6 x 1.5 cm (4 7/16 x 1 7/16 x 9/16 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Ghana
Côte d'Ivoire
Date:
18th-late 19th century
Label Text:
Until the end of the 19th century, gold dust was used in business transactions by the Asante and related peoples in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Special spoons known as saawa, usually made of sheet brass, lifted the gold dust from a storage box and placed it on one side of a beam scale to be measured against a weight.
Description:
Sheet brass spoon with round bowl and handle composed of two long trapazoids with incised linear borders and arching line pattern.
Provenance:
Mr. and Mrs. Emil J. Arnold, New York, -- to 1975
Published References:
Park, Edwards. 1983. Treasures of the Smithsonian. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, p. 390.
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