Ashanti gold weight; figurine, man lying on back, dead or dying, hands on knees; darkly tarnished.
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 only the dead who get buried, not the dying." 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:
length 6.5 centimeters and width 2.5 centimeters
Comment:
Notation on card: Verso: “It is only the dead who get buried, not the dying.”; PAHMA Storage Loc: V-28-4. Native name: abrammuo = goldweight.
Loans:
S1962-1963 #72: Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology/Alex Nicoloff (July 13, 1962–unknown)