The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Gold Weight (abrammuo): figure

Gold Weight (abrammuo): figure

1950–60
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

By the time this was cast in the 1950s or 1960s, gold dust was no longer a currency. "Weights" like this were instead made as small souvenirs or artworks.

Description

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. However, this weight was produced too late to have functioned in weighing currency.
  • ?–1962
    Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Hornung
    1962–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art by gift
  • Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).
    Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).
  • {{cite web|title=Gold Weight (abrammuo): figure|url=false|author=|year=1950–60|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.243