Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2019.9.8 |
Object Name |
Weight, Balance |
Description |
Brass Asante gold weight in the shape of a peanut and cast in the lost wax process. The Asante peoples of West Africa used gold dust as their currency for almost five centuries. To standardize prices, traders used a complex system of weights. Food items, including fruits, seeds, and in this case, a peanut, were depicted as gold weights. This was a nod to the trade of gold for foodstuffs as well as the fact that weight systems were originally based on the weight of seeds. |
Title |
Peanut Gold Weight |
Date |
late 1800s |
Material |
brass |
Dimensions |
W-0.5 L-1.25 inches |
Credit line |
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Breunig, Jr. |
Place of Origin |
Africa/Ghana |
Culture |
Asante |
Subjects |
Agriculture Gold Peanuts Trade Weights & measures |
Relation |
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