Accession Number
1986/2.128

Title
Gold-weight

Artist(s)
Akan

Artist Nationality
Akan (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
circa 1970

Medium & Support
brass

Dimensions
1 5/8 in x 1/2 in x 3/4 in (4.1 cm x 1.3 cm x 1.9 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Milford Golden

Subject matter
Figurative gold-weight in the form of a standing man wearing a loin cloth and wielding a hoe against a large object. Around the 18th century figurative gold-weights began to appear, many depicting everyday activities, as this one does (cf. Sheales, African Goldweights, 2014). A related proverb states: 'If you go and take someone’s hoe and work with it, wash it and take it back to where it belongs' (cf. British Museum object number Af1922,1027.310). This gold-weight may also allude to the proverb 'If your mother dies, the source of your family is damaged', which refers to the matrilineal aspect of many Akan-speaking peoples as well as the association between the hoe and cemeteries (cf. Niangoran-Bouah, The Akan World of Gold Weights, 1987, Vol. III, pp. 240-241). 

Physical Description
Gold-weight in the shape of a standing human figure holding a curved tool against a large, round object, sitting on a flat, square base.

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
Figures
farming (function)
goldweights
hoe
hoes (agricultural tools)
measuring
men (male humans)
miniature (size attribute)
tools
weighing devices