Accession Number
1997/1.475

Title
Gold-weight

Artist(s)
Akan

Artist Nationality
Akan (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
20th century

Medium & Support
brass

Dimensions
1 in x 11/16 in (2.5 cm x 1.8 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis

Subject matter
Figurative gold-weight in the shape of a round cooking pot, called osene in Twi, the language spoken by Akan peoples in Ghana. Pots were largely made by women, who built the clay up by hand, using techniques such as coiling, pinching clay upwards from a mass, or by using slabs of clay (cf. MacLeod, The Asante, 1981, p. 157). Household tools and implements are a popular form of gold-weight, and while not only practical, these objects had symbolic importance. They were created by skilled artisans who took raw natural materials to make objects that could in turn transform the natural world, whether by building structures, cooking food, or cultivating the land (cf. Sheales, African Goldweights, 2014).

Physical Description
Gold-weight in the shape of a spherical base surmounted by a small raised circle, attached to a cylinder with a flared rim. 

Primary Object Classification
Metalwork

Primary Object Type
goldweight

Collection Area
African

Rights
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Keywords
cooking utensils
goldweights
measuring
miniature (size attribute)
pots (containers)
vessels (containers)
weighing devices