unknown Akan
Akan Primary
Gold Weight
Late 19th century - Mid 20th century
Copper Alloy
0.125 x 2.76 x 2.76 in. (0.318 x 7.01 x 7.01 cm)
Bryn Mawr College
Accession Number:
2016.14.123
Geography:
Africa, Ghana, Brong Region, Southern Ghana
Classification:
Tools and Equipment; Weights & Measures
Culture/Nationality:
Akan, Ghanaian, West African, African
Collection:
Jane Martin Collection
Keywords
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This object has the following keywords:
Akan,
Asante*,
castings*,
copper alloy*,
geometric patterns,
Islamic*,
metal*,
weights*,
West African*
- Akan
- Asante - The culture and style of people of south-central Ghana and adjacent areas of Togo and Côte d'Ivoire.
- castings - Use in industrial and building trade contexts for objects made by casting. For sculptural works made by casting, use "casts."
- copper alloy - Alloy in which copper is the principle element.
- geometric patterns
- Islamic - Refers to the style and culture of the Middle East and other places, influenced and spread by the religion of Islam. The term is used for the style and culture regardless of whether or not the context is religious.
- metal - Any of a large group of substances that typically show a characteristic luster, are good conductors of electricity and heat, are opaque, can be fused, and are usually malleable or ductile.
- weights - Objects of known mass for use on scales during weighing.
- West African - Styles and cultures from the region comprising the westernmost area of the African continent, defined by the United Nations as including the modern nations of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Additional Images
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Comparanda List
The following Comparanda exist for this object:
- Suzanne Preston Blier, The Royal Arts of Africa: The Majesty of Form (London, England: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1998), 146. Figure Number: 123
- Timothy F. Garrard, "Akan Metal Arts." African Arts 13, no. 1 (November 1979): 41.
-
"Art Institute Chicago: Online Collections."
(Accessed August 4, 2020):
https://www.artic.edu/collection.
Accession No.: 2007.598.
-
"African Heritage Document and Research Center."
(Accessed June 11, 2020):
AHDRC.eu.
Record No.: 0053191.
Related Bibliography List
The following Related Bibliography exist for this object:
- Timothy F. Garrard, "Akan Metal Arts." African Arts 13, no. 1 (November 1979): 36-100.
- "Wikipedia: Akan Goldweights." (Accessed April 1, 2020): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_goldweights.
- Tom Phillips, ed. Africa: The Art of a Continent (Munich; London; New York: Prestel Verlag and Royal Academy of Arts, 1999), 442.
Portfolio List
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This object is a member of the following portfolios:
Your current search criteria is: Keyword is "BAWQU" and [Object]Century is "19th century, 20th century" and [Object]Culture-Nationality is "Akan, Ghanaian, West African, African".
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