Akan, Ghana, 18th century
Cast copper alloy
Length 3 1/2 inches (8.9 cm)
Provenance: London trade; Romy Rey, London
The leopard is cast standing on four straight legs with the body held level and the head lowered and turned toward the ground, a small form gripped in the jaws. Raised rosettes are set in rows along the flanks, the spine, and the length of the tail, which sweeps back from the haunches and arches high above the body before curling in toward the head. The metal carries a mottled brown and olive surface with brassy highlights on the rosettes and along the spine where the raised detail has rubbed, and the legs stand slightly uneven so the weight rests on three points.
Akan gold weights were used across Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire to weigh gold dust against agreed units, and the figurative examples carried proverbs alongside their function, so a weight was read as well as balanced. The leopard belonged to the imagery of authority and force, and a leopard shown with prey in its jaws speaks to that power exercised rather than held in reserve. At three and a half inches this sits at the upper end of the size range for figurative weights, most of which are considerably smaller.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Akan, Ghana, 18th century
Cast copper alloy
Length 3 1/2 inches (8.9 cm)
Provenance: London trade; Romy Rey, London
The leopard is cast standing on four straight legs with the body held level and the head lowered and turned toward the ground, a small form gripped in the jaws. Raised rosettes are set in rows along the flanks, the spine, and the length of the tail, which sweeps back from the haunches and arches high above the body before curling in toward the head. The metal carries a mottled brown and olive surface with brassy highlights on the rosettes and along the spine where the raised detail has rubbed, and the legs stand slightly uneven so the weight rests on three points.
Akan gold weights were used across Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire to weigh gold dust against agreed units, and the figurative examples carried proverbs alongside their function, so a weight was read as well as balanced. The leopard belonged to the imagery of authority and force, and a leopard shown with prey in its jaws speaks to that power exercised rather than held in reserve. At three and a half inches this sits at the upper end of the size range for figurative weights, most of which are considerably smaller.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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