gold weight

Small square piece of cast metal for weighing gold dust. Incised 'E' pattern.

These are brass weights, often referred to as gold weights, and were used by the Akan people, such as the Asante or Fante people. They were used to measure gold dust, which was used as currency up to the end of the 19th century. Many weights illustrated popular sayings and Akan chiefs sometimes used them to send each other messages. Animal shapes were often made, for example the scorpion which is the symbol of death. This may have been to act as a warning as to other chiefs and rulers. Others showed images of everyday life.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
HC.1999.1119
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 6 x 12 x 12 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
brass
CATEGORY
Education Handling Collection: Anthropology
LOCATION
Hands on Base > Display > Case 22
SHAREABLE LINK

Continue exploring anthropology

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk