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Gold Weight (abrammuo): Geometric
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The wealth and power of the Asante kingdom was derived primarily from its massive gold resources. Since at least 1600, small weights in brass and bronze were used to weight gold dust and nuggets. The royal court had the most elaborate store of weights, while commoners often had about a dozen. Their imagery falls into two broad cateogries: geometric and representational. The latter often refers to proverbs, which used judiciously, marked a wise person.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineGold Weight (abrammuo): Geometric, 1800s. Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Asante goldsmith. Copper alloy. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Georges D. Rodrigues, 1969.265
