Heirloom Editions Ltd.

Akan Ashanti Bronze Gold Measuring Weight 

Polished Leopard with Rabbit 

                                                 L        X      H        X      W        

Figure Measures inches           3.0     X     1.75     X     .5

Figure Measures CM.            7.62      X     4.45     X   1.27

Grams 58 

Original Price $70.00 

Shipping:

Using Double Boxed, each bronze is boxed and wrapped tightly in tissue paper, then put into Air Pillow Bags or Shipping Craft Paper, in 5” X 5” X 5” boxes, I have as of this date 12/22/2025 not had a damaged box delivered. 

About Akan Shanti:

This unique item is an original piece from Africa, Ghana, made of bronze, dating back to the period between manufactured 1960 to 1975 from original molds.  

  It is an excellent addition to any collection of antiques or other decorative items. The craftsmanship of this item is evident in the intricate details and skilled design. 

  It is an authentic piece that has yet to be replicated or reproduced. This item would make an excellent present for anyone who appreciates antiques or is interested in Akan Ashanti African art. 

Take advantage of the opportunity to own this rare piece of history.

Cast in bronze using the lost wax method. These weights were used to weigh gold dust,   a form of currency. Condition commensurate with age. 

Condition commensurate with age, and each item is handmade and has its characteristics, nuance, and beauty.

***** Each bronze is individually packaged in cardboard boxed in tissue paper and shipped in the USPS Ground Advantage 5 X 5 X 5. 

The Asante/ Akan Gold Weights

Practical, Unique, Artistic Tools of the Trade

By: Christina Griffith      Articles originally published in 2019

WITHIN THE GLASS CASES IN THE AFRICAN GALLERIES, APPEAR MINIATURIZED TROPHIES, TOYS, OR JEWELRY, BUT THESE BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED SCULPTURES AND ICONS OF MYTH AND REALITY WERE VITAL TOOLS IN THE BUSTLING TRADE HUB OF AFRICA'S GOLD COAST.

BETWEEN THE 9TH AND 16TH CENTURIES, desert-traversing trade routes connecting Egypt, Ethiopia, Arabia, and Europe to sub-Saharan Africa carried ivory, salt, spices, and gold among kingdoms and cultures. In the forested region that is today modern Ghana, gold was plentiful and relatively easy to extract from the environment. It was here that the Akan-speaking peoples, made up of several populations that shared a language and many cultural elements, established a gold market so rich that the region was given the moniker the Gold Coast.

         Valuable as both a commodity and as currency, gold dust was used as a medium of exchange. The Dyula, Sudanese people whose merchants began trading with the Akan in the late 14th century, are credited with introducing Islamic designs and a weight system based on Islamic units. Long before metalworking techniques were developed, the Akan used tropical seeds on which to base their system of weights. Over time, a complex system of standardized measures was used to conduct transactions. By the 14th century, goldsmiths in the region were manufacturing their own weights, scoops, scales, and boxes for storing gold dust to facilitate trade.

The Asante, also known as Ashanti, are an ethnic group among the Akan that utilized their gold wealth to build an empire. Organized in 1670, the Asante embarked on a military campaign to rule the surrounding states under a centralized government and judiciary system. It is their kingdom that the Penn Museums gold weight collection represents. The term? gold? weight is a bit of a misnomer. While they are used to measure gold dust and nuggets, they are cast from brass. There are two primary ways the Asante produced their brass objects. In direct casting, a mold made from clay would be formed around the object meant to be copied. The object itself would then burn away when the mold was fired, leaving the void for the molten metal to be poured into. To make a great variety of original designs and complex objects, casters employed the? lost wax method. For this, a mold is made by first sculpting an original, finely detailed piece out of wax, clay, or resin, which is coated by either dipping in or painting on layers of clay slip (a liquefied clay mixture with the required to make specific weights and, if incorrect, could add small amounts of metal or take away metal to meet a lower or higher weight standard without losing the completed work.

         There were over 60 values used by the Akan that are as small as .04 grams. Each population center used local names for the measures, but the weight standards between regions were the same. The earliest weight systems used the Islamic standard, as Europeans did not arrive until the Portuguese landed in 1482. Because of the extent of global trade, by the 19th century, Islamic, Portuguese, and Troy standards were combined together in the standard weight system. Gold dust was the primary currency of the region by the middle of the 18^th century until paper currency based on the British pound was introduced in 1899. Abridged