H x W x D: 4.4 x 1.9 x 1.3 cm (1 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/2 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Ghana
Côte d'Ivoire
Date:
18th-late 19th century
Label Text:
Metal in motion. Weights for measuring gold dust were once made and used throughout Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. For more than five centuries, from about 1400 to 1900, Akan smiths cast weights of immense diversity. Their small size made them portable and easy to trade. Each weight was cast individually in the lost-wax method. What resulted was a unique piece, but one that had to be a specific weight to function.
Figurative weights also corresponded to known Akan proverbs. For important transactions, gold dust was placed on one side of a small, handheld balance scale with a weight on the other. Each party to the transaction verified the amount of gold dust using his or her own weights. Visually, weights fall into two distinct categories: geometric and figurative.
Description:
Cast copper alloy figurative weight in the form of a horn with human jaws attached, twisted rope handle.
Exhibition History:
Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 4, 2017-ongoing
Content Statement:
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