Online Collections at UoB - Objects
ID number: BIRRC-D0230 Institution: Research and Cultural Collections Named collection: Danford Collection of West African Art and Artefacts Artist / Maker: Unknown Title / Object name: Goldweight Object type: Metalwork
Place made: Africa: Ghana Culture: Asante Materials: Cast brass Measurements: 6 cm
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This object is an Ashanti goldweight, or 'sika abrammoo'. It comprises a square base with the figure of a man holding a gunpowder container on his head with one hand and raising a pipe to his mouth with the other. This represents and Akan proverb which means 'we carry gunpowder whilst smoking' or 'burning the candle at both ends'. This proverb can also mean that even in trouble one must enjoy life's small pleasures. It was presented to the University of Birmingham by Sister Evelyn Bellamy in 1968.
Goldweights were widely produced by the Ashanti and often represented proverbs relating to man and his societal position. The art of brass casting and metal arts in general flourished due to the large amounts of metal naturally occuring in the region. Metal casting was a skilled and widely practised art until the Ashanti war of 1874, after which most goldsmiths began to produce cheaper trinkets for the newly emerging tourist trade. Sister Evelyn Bellamy was a Methodist Missionary in Ghana and between 1914 and 1943 was headmistress of Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast. The Danford Collection is home to a large number of objects presented by Sister Evelyn Bellamy.
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