Goldweight Axe Akuma or Abonnua
Akan / Asante, Ghana
Copper alloy
Late 19th / early 20th century

Goldweights were produced as part of the goldsmith’s trade over a period of five centuries. They eventually became objects of general and daily use while still remaining items of prestige. While used practically for weighing purchases of gold dust, they also carry proverbial associations (Phillips, African Goldweights, 2010).

Two proverbs associated with axes are:

-asem biara ye den a yemfa akuma na etwa, na yede yeano na eka ma notwa / However difficult a case may be, it must be settled by counsel, not with an axe.

-wo de sekan twa, na anntwa a na wo fa akuma / If the knife will not cut, apply the axe. This proverb highlights the necessity of adapting one’s response to the demands of a situation (Menzel, Goldgewichte Aus Ghana, 1968).

2.75 in :: 7 cm

InventoryID #13-2304

SOLD