Description
Akan gold weights depict both figural and abstract forms. They were cast by the Akan and Akan-related people of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and used for weighing gold dust from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The earliest forms—like this example—were based on abstract motifs, reflecting the Islamic influence on the gold trade prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1470s.
Provenance
George Stoecklin (died 1997), Golfe-Juan, France, by 1978 [see correspondence with Jean Britt in curatorial file]; sold to Raymond E. Britt, Jr. (died 2004), Britt Family Collection, Chicago, Ill., 1978; given to the Art Institute, 1978.
Accession Number
54017
Medium
Copper alloy
Dimensions
1.3 × 1.3 × 0.7 cm (1/2 × 1/2 × 1/4 in.)
Classification
gold-weight
Credit Line
Gift of the Britt Family Collection
