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Gold-weight (abrammuo): four birds

Arts of Africa

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.”
CULTURE Akan
MEDIUM Copper alloy
  • Place Made: Ghana
  • DATES 19th–20th century
    DIMENSIONS 1 1/4 x 3/4 x 3/4 in.  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
    ACCESSION NUMBER 88.192.129
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams
    PROVENANCE Prior to 1981, provenance not yet documented; between 1961 and 1981, acquired by Franklin Hall Williams and Shirley Broyard Williams of New York, NY; 1988, gift of Franklin Hall Williams and Shirley Broyard Williams to the Brooklyn Museum.
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    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Akan. Gold-weight (abrammuo): four birds, 19th–20th century. Copper alloy, 1 1/4 x 3/4 x 3/4 in. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 88.192.129. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 88.192.129_PS6.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 88.192.129_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2011
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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    Akan. <em>Gold-weight (abrammuo): four birds</em>, 19th–20th century. Copper alloy, 1 1/4 x 3/4 x 3/4 in. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 88.192.129. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 88.192.129_PS6.jpg)