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Gold-weight

Akan

Artwork Details

Gold-weight
1900-1985
Akan
brass with thread
13/16 in x 13/16 in x 1 in (2 cm x 2.1 cm x 2.5 cm)
Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis
1997/1.403

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Description

Subject Matter:

Gold-weight in the shape of a pyramid with a suspension loop and thread attached. This gold-weight may represent an amulet, called a safi or a sebe, an Islamic amulet adopted by Akan-speaking peoples around the 14th century (cf. Sheales, African Goldweights, 2014). Some gold-weights, such as this one, could have had a dual purpose. The loop at the top suggests that this weight could have been worn to "bring good fortune or preserve the wearer from harm" (cf. Garrard, Akan Weights and the Gold Trade, 1980, p. 201). 

Physical Description:

Gold-weight in the shape of a smooth-sided square pyramid, with a small piece of rope attached to the hole on top.

Usage Rights:

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