Accession Number1997/1.459
TitleGold-weight
Artist(s)AkanArtist NationalityAkan (culture or style)Object Creation Date1900-1985Medium & SupportbrassDimensions 1 11/16 in x 1/2 in x 3/16 in (4.3 cm x 1.3 cm x 0.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of Dr. James and Vivian CurtisSubject matterFigurative gold-weight in the form of what may be folded and bound length of rope or a bound length of tobacco, called
taa in Twi, the language spoken by Akan peoples in Ghana (cf. British Museum object number Af1979,01.3683). Everyday objects such as this one were a popular form of gold-weight (cf. Phillips, African Goldweights, 2010, p. 169), as both men and women, royal and non-royal alike used to use pipes to smoke tobacco. The practice of smoking tobacco was brought from Western Sudan into the Gold Coast region during the early 17th century and it was also introduced independently into the Accra area by the Dutch around 1640 (cf. Garrard, Akan Weights and the Gold Trade, 1980, p. 37; Sheales, African Goldweights, 2014).
Physical DescriptionGold-weight in the shape of an undulating line with incised knobs at both ends and an incised rectangle across the middle.
Primary Object Classification Metalwork Primary Object TypegoldweightCollection AreaAfricanRightsIf 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
goldweights
measuring
miniature (size attribute)
rope
smoking (activity)
tobacco (material)
weighing devices