Ashanti gold weight; figurine, man with staff in right hand. axe and firewood(?) held on head with left hand. smooth shiny surface.
Donor:
Berta Bascom
Collection place:
Ghana
Verbatim coll. place:
Africa; Ghana, Ashanti
Culture or time period:
Ashanti
Materials:
Brass (alloy)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Gold-weights
Function:
7.3 Weights, Measures, and Computing Devices
Context of use:
Associated proverb: "It is a poor man who ahs to go for firewood." "As long as the head remaisn one cannot avoid carrying loads about." Used during the gold dust currency trade which flourished on the Ivory Coast from teh 1400's throught the 1800's.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
height 4.5 centimeters
Comment:
Notation on card: Verso: Proverb, see 625. PAHMA Storage Loc: V-28-4. Native name: abrammuo = goldweight.