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These small objects were essential tools for trade in West Africa until the end of the 19th century. Depicting important proverbs and symbols from Akan culture, they illuminate intricacies of a complex society and historical networks of commerce.
Cast brass gold weights, West Africa, Ghana, Asante, late 19th century
They show how materials, ideas and technology have been exchanged between different parts of the African continent and Europe for centuries. They give us a glimpse of how the rich and colourful language of proverbs permeated every aspect of Akan culture and shaped the way people communicated everyday.
Date
Late 19th century
Made in
Ghana
What culture are they from?
Akan
Material
Brass
Did you know?
These gold weights come from the Akan region, a part of West Africa which now lies across Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Historically, the area contained substantial gold deposits which led to the region being known as the ‘Gold Coast’ by European traders.
Akan people produced gold weights like these in Ghana from around 1400 to 1900. Made from imported European brass, these weights represented units and could be adjusted with drops of solder or copper plugs. They were used to measure gold-dust, the currency of the region at the time. Units of gold dust were weighed out for all transactions, from the smallest market sale to the largest state enterprise.
Gold weights made of brass, West Africa, Ghana, Asante
Traders carried many weights and most families would also have a collection that could be passed down as heirlooms. The gold weight would sit on one side of a pair of scales and gold-dust would be scooped onto the other with a brass spoon. The weights and scales would be part of a larger gold weighing set.
Spoon of beaten brass sheet, West Africa, Ghana, Asante, late 19th-early 20th century
Impurities were removed with blow pans of hammered brass and the quality of gold nuggets would be tested with a touchstone. Gold dust was kept in a twist of cloth inside a brass box for everyday use and sometimes stored in large, elaborate brass containers called kuduo.
Brass box for holding gold-dust, rectangular with decorated detachable lid, produced by lost wax casting: West Africa, Ghana, Asante, late 19th to early 20th century
The trade of this precious metal attracted merchants from west Sudan who took it to North Africa. European traders also arrived along the coast and carried huge quantities back to Europe by ship. Commodities such as salt, kola nuts, iron, cowrie shells, brassware, fabrics, liquor and gunpowder were exchanged. Increasingly at this time, enslaved people were also a key part of this trade.
The wealth and prosperity generated by the gold trade led to the emergence of the Asante Kingdom in the eighteenth century. Following the Anglo–Asante trade treaty agreed in 1817, the British mounted a series of military campaigns to gain control of trade routes. In 1896, they annexed the region and abolished gold-dust as a currency, replacing it with the British pound sterling. Combined with the gradual decline of the ancient gold trade, this marked the end of the large-scale production of gold weights.
National Museums Scotland's collection includes a group of one hundred brass gold weights, a box and scoop for holding gold dust of Asante origin. Although there is no direct evidence recorded in the museum register, it is likely that they were taken at the storming and looting of Kumasi, capital of the Asante region, during the Fourth Anglo-Asante War in 1895-6. Subsequently acquired by the London taxidermist and dealer Rowland Ward, the objects were purchased by the Museum in 1903.
In traditional Akan culture, extensive and subtle use of proverbs was a sign of high culture and education. Many gold weights conceal symbols that hint at the need to recognise and respect hierarchies. Being proficient in such proverbs was key to navigating trading relations.
Trading involved much haggling and the use of proverbs was important, to communicate double meanings and indirect criticism, thus avoiding conflict. The gold weight chosen for a transaction may have contained a coded message.
Cast brass sculpture in form of a gunboat with figures of men and birds, in the style of a gold weight: West Africa, Ghana, Asante, late 19th-early 20th century
Gold weights could also be worn as charms to cure ailments, gifted with dowries of gold dust or sent as pertinent messages. Proverbs depicted in the form of the weight could provide a piece of advice, recall a debt, serve as a warning or token of friendship.
Some gold weights depict a single proverb and others combine symbols to create complex meanings. Explore the meanings behind some of our gold weights below.
A very common gold weight theme is the mythical Sankofa bird. The Sankofa, which is always depicted looking backwards, means ‘don’t forget your roots’ or ‘use what is behind you’. It’s still an important visual symbol in Ghana that reminds people to learn from the past.
Gold weight of brass, in the form of a bird with head turned round to tail, on square stepped base: West Africa, Ghana, Asante
The bird as an emblem of the state can be merged with a knot, which represents wisdom, to create a figure that indicates ‘wisdom of the state’.
Gold weight for valuing gold-dust, West Africa, Ghana, Asante, late 19th century
Gold weights often appear in the shape of objects used and worn by high ranking chiefs. These objects had symbolic meaning associated with power and maintaining social order. Sandals could be a reminder for those in power need to keep their feet on the ground.
Gold weight of cast brass in form of a pair of sandals, West Africa, Ghana, Asante
In other objects, we can see evidence of trade with Europeans. A chair decorated with 19th-century upholstery tacks demonstrates how decorative details were appropriated. It was common practice to embellish furniture with these brass tacks, which shone like gold if polished with lime juice.
Cast brass gold weight representing a chief's asipim chair: West Africa, Ghana, Asante, late 19th century
Gold weights were cast in brass using the lost wax process. The form would be modelled in purified beeswax, coated in a clay slip and encased in a larger clay ball. When heated in a furnace, the molten wax would drain out, leaving behind a perfect indentation of the model.
Gold weight of cast brass, four birds perched on open rectangle, West Africa, Ghana, Asante
Molten brass would be poured in and once cooled, the clay would be cracked to reveal the gold weight. Sometimes small objects were used instead of wax models. Popular items included beetles, shells, fruit and crab claws, which were small enough to be incinerated in heat of the fire. This method has been called the ‘lost-beetle process’.