Accession Number
1997/1.364

Title
Spoon

Artist(s)
Akan

Artist Nationality
Akan (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
20th century

Medium & Support
brass

Dimensions
3 3/16 in x 1 7/16 in x 1/4 in (8.1 cm x 3.65 cm x 0.64 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis

Subject matter
Gold-weights, used by Akan-speaking peoples to measure gold-dust (sika futura), were not the only tools necessary for conducting transactions. Scales, blow pans, and spoons (called saawa) were also needed for measuring gold-dust, which was used as currency in some areas of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire until the end of the 19th century. These spoons lifted the gold-dust from a storage box to one side of a scale, the other counterbalanced by a gold-weight.

References Cited:
Cole, Herbert M. and Doran H. Ross. 1977. The Art of Ghana. Los Angeles: UCLA Museum of Cultural History.
McLeod, Malcolm D. 1981. The Asante. London: British Museum Publications Ltd.

Physical Description
Spoon with a large, round bowl and a narrow handle with a flared end. The handle is decorated with small, raised dots along the edge. There are four clusters of three dots spread throughout the handle. 

Primary Object Classification
Decorative Arts

Primary Object Type
spoon

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
gold (metal)
measuring
measuring device components
trade (function)