Gold-weight
Akan
Description
Subject Matter:
The Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire have long used gold-weights such as this one to weigh off the amount of gold dust required in a particular transaction. The Ivorian scholar Niangoran-Bouah has argued that the signs on Akan gold-weights are a real writing system, based on 254 basic signs that can occur (alone or in combinations) on gold-weights, as well as many other media. In this example, the vertical bars might relate to a numerical sign (namely, 3).
Physical Description:
Gold-weight in the shape of a square base with three raised bars.
Usage Rights:
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