Figurative Gold Weight

Bronze Gold Weight. 19th Century. Akan, Ghana

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This finely cast Akan gold weight depicts a warrior holding an old musket in one hand, and a slave boy in the other. The slave has his hands tied behind his back and wears a chain around his neck. Bronze Akan gold weights were made by Akan goldsmiths from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century in a variety of styles, for the purpose of measuring gold dust for the Akan royalty.

Akan gold weights are miniature marvels with the intricacy of their casting. Gold weights could also be worn as charms to cure ailments, gifted with dowries of gold dust, or sent as pertinent messages.

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Estimated Period: 18th/19th Century

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Reference

National Museums Scotland, Gold weights from Ghana, https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/world-cultures/gold-weights-from-ghana/