Accession Number
1986/1.202

Title
Gold-weight

Artist(s)
Akan

Artist Nationality
Akan (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1900-1985

Medium & Support
brass

Dimensions
1 5/8 in x 1 5/8 in x 3/8 in (4.2 cm x 4.1 cm x 1 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase made possible by the Friends of the Museum of Art

Subject matter
Figurative gold-weight in the form of a fish, curved so that the head and the tail face the same direction. This gold-weight may represent a stylized saw-fish (cf. Phillips, African Goldweights, 2010. p. 156). A related proverb states: 'If the fish comes out of the water to say that the crocodile is ill, one should not doubt it', meaning that people will not doubt what a close friend says about you (cf. Garrard, Akan Weights and the Gold Trade, p. 207). 

Physical Description
Gold-weight in the shape of an upside-down 'U', with a central raised line surrounded by spiraling circles on both sides. At one end there are two grooved, rounded rectangles in a 'V' shape and at the other end is a long neck with horizontal incisions leading to a pointed head with two raised circles and a triangular protrusion. 

Primary Object Classification
Metalwork

Primary Object Type
goldweight

Collection Area
African

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Fish
fish (animals)
goldweights
measuring
miniature (size attribute)
water (inorganic material)
weighing devices