FILTER RESULTS
Goldweight
1 1/4 x 1 3/8 x 5/8 in. (3.2 x 3.5 x 1.6 cm)Asante artist
Ghana
Asante, made in Ghana
Object Type:
Metalwork
Medium and Support:
Brass
Credit Line:
R. T. Miller Fund
Accession Number:
1953.76.2
Location: Currently on view
Fueled by rich deposits of gold, the Asante engaged in extensive trade relations with European and African nations. Buyers and vendors used brass weights such as these to counterbalance gold dust on scales. Each Asante family had their own set of brass pieces. Unsurprisingly the vendors’ weights were often too heavy and the buyer’s weights too light. Many goldweights represented local proverbs with social or moral meanings that served as ethical reminders during the sometimes fraught ordeal of gold-weighing. If this weight was associated with a proverb, the cultural association has been lost to us.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
[Gallery label text, 2009]
Provenance
Robert Rousset, New York (dealer); purchased from him by the Gallery in 1953
Keywords
Click a term to view the records with the same keyword
Additional Images
Click an image to view a larger version
Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
- Traditional Art of Black Africa Memorial Art Gallery 11/14/1969 - 12/28/1969
Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Rochester Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester Handbook. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 1961.
- Article Scope: Mention. Elizabeth Brayer. Magnum Opus: The Story of the Memorial Art Gallery, 1913-1988. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1988.
Portfolio List
Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio
This object is a member of the following portfolios: