Ghana (Akan)

Geometric Copper Alloy Goldweight from the Akan Peoples of Ghana

2938

Date: Created between 1600 and 1799 CE (17th/18th century). Period: Classical Ashanti / Akan Goldweight Production Period (Coastal West Africa).

Commercial and Monetary Use: Functioned as an exact weight standard (abrammuo) used by Akan merchants and royalty to weigh gold dust, which served as currency in the active trans-Saharan and coastal trade networks. Cultural and Philosophical Repository: Beyond mere units of measurement, goldweights acted as physical mnemonics for proverbs, moral values, historical events, and cosmological concepts, embodying the wisdom and status of their owners.