File:Brooklyn Museum 74.218.68 Gold Weight.jpg
Original file (1,536 × 1,150 pixels, file size: 85 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
English: Gold Weight ( ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Artist |
Unknown authorUnknown author |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Title |
English: Gold Weight |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Description |
English: Cast brass weight in shape of an antelope with long ringed horns that extend to the back end of the animal. It has three legs. It has a very dark patina. Condition: Good.
English: Gold was extremely important in the economic and political life of the Akan kingdoms of southern Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Until the mid-nineteenth century, gold dust was the primary form of currency in the region. In order to measure precise amounts of gold, an elaborate system of weights, usually made of cast brass, developed by the seventeenth century. Gold weights took many forms: simple geometric shapes; animals, such as leopards or birds; objects, such as chairs or swords; and human figures. The figures, animals, and objects are often associated with proverbs. The sankofa bird, with head turned backward, represents the proverb “One must turn to the past to move forward.” |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date |
English: 19th or 20th century |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dimensions | 1 5/8 x 1 x 1 7/8 in. (4.1 x 2.5 x 4.8 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Collection |
institution QS:P195,Q632682 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current location |
Arts of Africa collection South Gallery, 1st Floor |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accession number | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Credit line | The Franklin H. Williams Collection of Ashanti Brass Weights and Accessory Objects for Weighing Gold, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source/Photographer | Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum; Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 74.218.68_PS6.jpg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Permission (Reusing this file) |
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Brooklyn Museum
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other versions |
|
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 11:57, 31 October 2012 | 1,536 × 1,150 (85 KB) | Slick-o-bot (talk | contribs) | {{Artwork | Artist = {{unknown}} | Title = {{en|Gold Weight}} | Year = {{en|19th or 20th century}} | Description = {{en|Cast brass weight in shape of an antelope with long ringed horns that extend to the ba... |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
The following 2 pages use this file:
Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
Date and time of data generation | 11:42, 7 July 2011 |
---|