The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Gold Weight (abrammuo): Geometric Form
1800s
Overall: 2.4 x 1.4 x 1.2 cm (15/16 x 9/16 x 1/2 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
Geometric forms were the earliest shapes used for gold weights.Description
The Asante kingdom (an Akan state in present-day Ghana) primarily derived its wealth and power from its massive gold resources. Since at least 1600, small weights in brass and bronze were used to weigh gold dust and nuggets, which were the local form of currency. The rounded, worn-down edges of this weight suggest that it was used frequently. The royal court had the most elaborate store of weights, while commoners often had about a dozen. Their imagery falls into two broad categories: geometric and representational. The latter often refers to proverbs, which used judiciously, marked a wise person.- ?–1962Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Hornung, Cleveland Heights, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art1962–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Sims, Lowery Stokes. The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 34, no. 38
- The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (June 9-August 20, 2006).MOCA Cleveland (6/9/2006 - 8/20/2006): "The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art", no. 38, p. 117, color repr. p. 34.Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).
- {{cite web|title=Gold Weight (abrammuo): Geometric Form|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.244