Goldweight Depicting a Seated Figure

AsanteWW-1800-142544

1800·Copper alloy·4 × 1.6 × 2 cm (1 9/16 × 5/8 × 3/4 in.)

<p>Weights for measuring gold dust were made and used throughout Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire for more than five centuries, from about 1400 to 1900. These weights are either figurative or abstract and are usually divided into an early period (c. 1400–1700) and a late period (c. 1700–1900). During the late period, an increased variety and number of figurative weights emerged, although abstract weights continued to be made. Although used in economic transactions, the individual pieces could also function symbolically as indicators of wealth when placed on display.<br>This weight in the form of a stool with an arched seat, a central column and four legs is part of a series of weights that relate to quotidian life in Ghana and the Côte d’Ivoire and include furniture, cooking equipment, weapons and tools, hunting and agricultural implements, and paraphernalia related to chieftaincy.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1800
Medium: Copper alloy
Dimensions: 4 × 1.6 × 2 cm (1 9/16 × 5/8 × 3/4 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Asante

Artist

Asante

Asante is both an Ashanti surname and a masculine Ashanti given name. Notable people with the Ashanti name include:

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