Ashanti gold weight; figurative, flat fish with scales and fins; not tarnished.
Donor:
Berta Bascom
Collection place:
Ghana
Verbatim coll. place:
Africa; Ghana, Ashanti (Asante)
Culture or time period:
Ashanti
Collection date:
unknown
Materials:
Brass (alloy)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Gold-weights
Function:
7.3 Weights, Measures, and Computing Devices
Context of use:
Associated Proverb: "If the fish comes out of the water to say that the crocodile is ill one should not doubt it." Used during the Gold Dust currency trade which flourished on the Ivory Coast from the 1400's to the 1800's.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
weight 1 grams, height 6 centimeters, and width 3.5 centimeters