An Asante figurative Goldweight, Elephant

Figural gold weight, elephant Asante, Ghana Mit Sockel / with base Yellow cast iron. H 5,5 cm. L 8 cm. Provenance: - Denise David (1928-2011), Zurich. - Hammer auction 76, July 2021, lot 32. - Swiss private collection, Zurich. The weights of the Akan people on the former Gold Coast were in use from about 1400 to 1900. Their designation is not for the material of manufacture, but for their function, the weighing of gold dust which was also used as a means of payment. Until the end of the 19th century, gold dust was therefore actively traded by the Asante and related peoples in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Special spoons ("saawa"), mostly made of sheet brass, were used to take the gold dust ("sikafuturo") from a container ("adaka", "kuduo", etc.) to weigh it on a beam balance ("nsania") with the help of counterweights ("abrammoo" / "mrammou, "abrammuo", etc.). The gold weights were made of copper alloys using the technique of lost wax casting (also called "cire perdue" or "lost mold"). Early metal castings were mainly geometric in design, and it was not until the 16th century that figurative weights appeared. These "newer" weights continued to be for practical use, and in addition, as prestige weights, most often depicted Akan proverbs. In 1899, the use of gold dust as currency was banned by the British in Ghana. Further reading: Niangoran-Bouah, Georges (1984). L'univers Akan des poids a peser l'or / The Akan World of Gold Weights. Abidjan: Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines. CHF 400 / 800 EUR 400 / 800