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Goldweight with a Geometric Pattern

Date:

18th/19th century

Artist:

Asante or related Akan-speaking peoples
Ghana
Coastal West Africa

About this artwork

The relatively complex design of this gold weight consists of two comb-like elements attached to a pair spirals by a central stem. It is almost a perfect square in format. These weights were used to measure gold dust, the local currency in the Akan-speaking regions of southern Ghana and the Côte d’Ivoire between the 15th and the 20th centuries. Made of a copper alloy, the gold weights enabled merchants to carry out trade in towns of the West African Sahel and, prior to the arrival of the Europeans in the late 15th century, North Africa.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Asante

Title

Goldweight with a Geometric Pattern

Place

Ghana (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1700–1899

Medium

Copper alloy

Dimensions

2 × 3.5 × 3.8 cm (3/4 × 1 3/8 × 1 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Muriel Kallis Newman

Reference Number

2007.586

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/193088/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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