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Source Description
The wealth and power of the Asante kingdom was 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 cateogries: geometric and representational. The latter often refers to proverbs, which used judiciously, marked a wise person.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
136918
label
Gold Weight (abrammuo): Fish
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
136918
contentType
object
title
Gold Weight (abrammuo): Fish
description
The wealth and power of the Asante kingdom was 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 cateogries: geometric and representational. The latter often refers to proverbs, which used judiciously, marked a wise person.
date
1800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80031230
genreSpecific
Tools and Equipment
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 2.8 x 6.6 x 0.4 cm (1 1/8 x 2 5/8 x 3/16 in.)
cul
Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Asante goldsmith
accession
1961.399
Source extras
tec
Copper alloy
tombstone
Gold Weight (abrammuo): Fish, 1800s. Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Asante goldsmith. Copper alloy; overall: 2.8 x 6.6 x 0.4 cm (1 1/8 x 2 5/8 x 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William Ellery Greene, 1961.399
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
The prominence of fish-shaped weights in Asante cultures may be linked to the highly held value of wisdom, as the word for fish and wisdom in the Asante language is the same: <em>adwene</em>.
creditline
Gift of William Ellery Greene
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:59:23.313000
sourceId
136918
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Copper alloy
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
3ccd27988203dc41