Goldweight Depicting a Pyramid Shape with Spiral

Brass-cast gold weights were used to measure gold dust, the local currency in the Akan-speaking regions of southern Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire between the 15th and 20th centuries. Made of a copper alloy, the gold weights enabled merchants to trade with towns in the Sahel region and North Africa and later with the Portuguese and the Dutch. The designs of gold weights are incredibly diverse, from simple geometries to designs referencing local proverbs. Different styles came in and out of fashion over time; abstract goldweights, such as this stepped pyramid motif, date to sometime between 1500 and 1720.