Replica Weight Item Number: K2.95 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Replica gold weight of cast bronze in the form of a mother and child, attached to a wood base. The mother has rounded eyes, upraised brows that extend down into the nose, and a slim mouth, with rings are her neck. She has a conical hat and is sitting down. The child has similar facial features and is feeding from the mother's left breast.
Cultural Context
Reproduction of an Akan/Asante gold weight out of cast bronze.
Narrative
Purchased (along with K2.94, K2.96 and K2.97) as a reproduction, from a Vancouver store that specialized in art reproductions. The label on the base of K2.96 says "Authentic copyrighted reproduction made from the original at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Ill." They were acquired by MOA curator Audrey Hawthorn, who valued the educational potential of items, even if they were reproductions. But as commercially produced 'copyrighted reproductions' the pieces also represent a contemporary coloniality, in that the individual authorship of an Asante artist has been replaced with an American museum as the proprietor of the design.
Item History
- Made in Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Owned by Museum Art before September 1968
- Received from Leon & Thea Koerner Foundation (Funding source) and Museum Art (Seller) during September 1968
What
- Name
- Replica Weight
- Identification Number
- K2.95
- Type of Item
- weight
- Material
- bronze metal and wood
- Overall
- height 6.9 cm, width 4.7 cm, depth 4.1 cm
Who
- Culture
- Akan and Asante
- Previous Owner
- Museum Art
- Received from
- Leon & Thea Koerner Foundation (Funding source) and Museum Art (Seller)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
When
- Ownership Date
- before September 1968
- Acquisition Date
- during September 1968
Other
- Item Classes
- metalwork
- Condition
- good
- Current Location
- Case 101
- Accession Number
- 0143/0006