Akan Gold Weights (Abrempong) – Brass Figural Group – Ghana – 3 Piece Set

This three-piece Akan gold weight group, attributed to the Akan peoples of present-day Ghana, comprises finely cast brass figural forms representing stylised animals. Such weights (mrammou or abrammuo) were historically used to measure gold dust, the principal medium of exchange in Akan-speaking regions from at least the 15th to the 19th century. Figural examples often embodied proverbs, status, or moral instruction, forming part of a merchant’s calibrated weighing set.

Each weight is cast using the lost-wax technique and displays characteristic surface patination and handling wear consistent with age and use. The modelling remains crisp, with visible casting apertures and tool finishing. Figural Akan weights are actively collected for their sculptural abstraction and ethnographic importance, particularly when preserved in coherent groups and with established provenance.

Circa: 18th to 19th century

PROVENANCE Egon Guenther Collection.

MEASUREMENTS Total weight: 61 g
Composition: 3-piece collection