Collections: Arts of Africa: Gold Weight

  • 1st Floor
    Arts of Africa, Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden
  • 2nd Floor
    Arts of Asia and the Islamic World
  • 3rd Floor
    Egyptian Art, European Paintings
  • 4th Floor
    Contemporary Art, Decorative Arts, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art
  • 5th Floor
    Luce Center for American Art

Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Hiroshige's 118 woodblock landscape and genre scenes of mid-nineteenth-century Tokyo, is one of the greatest achievements of Japanese art.

    On View: Table

    American scenery emerged as a powerful national symbol in a number of inventive forms. Artist created topographical images in a variety of m...

     

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    74.218.23_bw.jpg CUR.74.218.16-.24_print_bw.jpg

    Gold Weight

    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.”

    This text refers to these objects: ' 1990.221.63; 74.218.23; 74.218.24; 74.218.29; 74.218.58; 74.218.62; 74.218.68; 74.218.85; 74.218.117; 88.192.37; 88.192.47; 88.192.63; 88.192.66; 88.192.70; 88.192.76; 88.192.88; 88.192.99; 88.192.127; 88.192.129; 67.25.15; 67.25.14; 45.11.5; 81.168.1

    • Culture: Asante
    • Medium: Cast brass
    • Place Made: Ashanti Region, Ghana
    • Dates: 19th or 20th century
    • Dimensions: 1 3/8 x 3/16 x 1 1/2 in. (3.5 x 0.5 x 3.8 cm)  (show scale)
    • Collections:Arts of Africa
    • Museum Location: This item is on view in African Installation Vault
    • Exhibitions:
    • Accession Number: 74.218.23
    • Credit Line: The Franklin H. Williams Collection of Ashanti Brass Weights and Accessory Objects for Weighing Gold, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams
    • Rights Statement: Creative Commons-BY
    • Caption: Asante. Gold Weight, 19th or 20th century. Cast brass, 1 3/8 x 3/16 x 1 1/2 in. (3.5 x 0.5 x 3.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, The Franklin H. Williams Collection of Ashanti Brass Weights and Accessory Objects for Weighing Gold, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 74.218.23. Creative Commons-BY
    • Image: overall, 74.218.23_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    • Catalogue Description: Cast brass geometric weight with stepped design on edges and an "X" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent
    • Record Completeness: Best (83%)
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{"cc_re__cc_re__cc_by_3_0": ["The Franklin H. Williams Collection of Ashanti Brass Weights and Accessory Objects for Weighing Gold, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams</span></li><li>Rights Statement: <a class=\"element-reveal reveal-rights-statement\" href=\"/opencollection/objects/101326/Gold_Weight?#rights-statement\">Creative Commons-BY</a><div id=\"rights-statement\" style=\"display:none\"><a name=\"rights-statement\"></a><p>You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/\" target=\"_blank\">Creative Commons license</a>. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.<br /><br />Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please contact <a href=\"mailto:reproductions@brooklynmuseum.org\">reproductions@brooklynmuseum.org</a> (charges apply).<br /><br />For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the <a href=\"http://www.copyright.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">United St"], "copyright__copyright__copyright": ["ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution.", "ped design on edges and an \"X\" design incised on obverse and reverse. The center of the weight is pierced by a circular void. Condition: Excellent\n    \u2022 Record Completeness: Best (83%)\n    advanced 107,936 records currently online.\n\n    Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.\n\n    Or join words together in one tag by using double quotes: \"Brooklyn Museum.\"\n\n\n    Join the posse or log in to work with our collections. Your tags, comments and favorites will display with your attribution."]}