Weight Akan

Akan · West Africa

Reference: PGM-157

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Height
0.60 cm
Material
African Bronze

These pieces were used in the territory Akan Until well into the century XX. They are all different, both in shape and in size or weight.…

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Full original description

These pieces were used in the territory Akan Until well into the century XX. They are all different, both in shape and in size or weight. All of them are decorated with different motifs on their surface. These motifs constitute a true code of signs, a language only known to some high initiates. Fr. Georges Niangoran Nbouah, q.e.p.d. left us an extensive three-volume treatise on the weights of weighing gold, certainly the first and most in-depth study on the subject.

It weighs in the form of a semicircumference divided into three sections, each containing two spirals.

Further technical information
Width
1.20 cm
Depth
1.90 cm
Attributed period
Century XVII a XIX
Recorded weight
10.10 g

Details transcribed from the original catalogue; they are not a recent physical inspection.

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West Africa. The country associated with the catalog is shown, not the current location of the piece.

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Attributions, dates and accounts come from the preserved catalogue. They do not constitute certification of authenticity or provenance. An object’s presence on this website does not mean it is available for sale.

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