18th/19th Century Bronze Gold Weight Depicting a Warrior and Slave. Akan Culture, Ghana

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This finely cast bronze gold weight depicts a warrior holding an old musket in one hand, and a slave in the other. The slave has his hands tied behind his back and wears a chain around his neck. Produced by Akan goldsmiths between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries for the purpose of measuring gold dust, bronze gold weights could also be worn as charms to cure ailments, gifted with dowries of gold dust, or sent as pertinent messages.

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Estimated Period: 18th/19th Century

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H: 5cm

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Reference

National Museums Scotland

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