Gold Weight Item Number: 3600/18 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Fish gold weight. Small flat fish with imprinted circles all over the body, and small circular raised eyes. The mouth is a small notch. The large dorsal fin and small pectoral fin are both marked with angled lines, and the tail fin has three raised lines - one down the centre, and one down the top and bottom.
Gold weights were historically made and used by the Akan peoples to weigh powdered gold ('gold dust'), which was used as the standard currency from the seventeenth to mid-nineteenth centuries. Locally referred to as abrammuo (singular mrammuo), they were usually made of a brass alloy and were based on the Islamic
weight
system. Each form had a known measurement, and those engaging in trade at that time would own a full set of weights. The pieces were cast using the lost-wax technique, ranging in form from simple geometric designs (thought to be the earliest forms) to figurative forms such as animals and humans, or items such as swords and Adinkra symbols.
Purchased by Peter Oberlander on his frequent trips to Africa, sometime between 1958-1990. Oberlander was teaching and consulting in Ghana, and consulting for the UN in Nigeria and Kenya.