Akan (Asante) Figurative Gold Weight with Leather Backing – Ghana, 18th–19th Century

Rare Akan (Asante) brass gold weight from southern Ghana, used within the pre-colonial Akan gold-dust economy. Cast using the traditional lost-wax (cire perdue) technique, this figurative weight features a highly stylized anthropomorphic form characteristic of historic Asante gold weights.

Such objects visually referenced Akan proverbs and conveyed philosophical concepts relating to balance, ethics, authority, and social order—ideas fundamental to Akan commercial and cultural life.

Function & Cultural Context
Gold weights served multiple roles within Akan society:
•   Used as precise measuring tools for gold dust
•   Central to the regulation of trade and commerce
•   Important expressions of African symbolic and philosophical art

The original leather backing is a documented functional feature, providing stability and protection during use, while also carrying symbolic significance related to the handling of gold dust.

Circa 18th–19th century Akan gold weight.

Provenance: Egon Guenther Collection;
previously in the collection of Hans Himmelheber (1908–2003).

Dimensions
Height 44 mm
Width 47 mm
Thickness  including leather backing 12mm
Weight 19 grams