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Source Description
The wealth and power of the Asante kingdom were derived primarily from its massive gold resources. Since at least 1600, small weights in brass and bronze were used to weigh 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 categories: geometric and representational. The latter often refers to proverbs, which used judiciously, mark a wise person. The weight in the form of an antelope with enormous horns may refer to the proverb "had I known"—a visual pun between the length of the horns and the idea of hindsight as perfect vision.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
115159
label
Gold Weight (abrammuo): Antelope
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
115159
contentType
object
title
Gold Weight (abrammuo): Antelope
description
The wealth and power of the Asante kingdom were derived primarily from its massive gold resources. Since at least 1600, small weights in brass and bronze were used to weigh 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 categories: geometric and representational. The latter often refers to proverbs, which used judiciously, mark a wise person. The weight in the form of an antelope with enormous horns may refer to the proverb "had I known"—a visual pun between the length of the horns and the idea of hindsight as perfect vision.
date
1800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80008259
genreSpecific
Tools and Equipment
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 5.2 cm (2 1/16 in.)
cul
Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Akan-style artist
accession
1935.306
Source extras
tec
Copper alloy
tombstone
Gold Weight (abrammuo): Antelope, 1800s. Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Akan-style artist. Copper alloy; overall: 5.2 cm (2 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, James Albert Ford Memorial Fund, 1935.306
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
To make this casting, a brass caster first modeled the shape in wax.
citations
citation
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.), and James Johnson Sweeney. <em>African Negro Art</em>. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1935.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 39, no. 190.
creditline
James Albert Ford Memorial Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:01:36.719000
sourceId
115159
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Copper alloy
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
f4435e0340d4f156