Akan goldweights

Akan goldweights, (locally known as mrammou), are weights made of brass used as a measuring system by the Akan people of West Africa, particularly for weighing gold dust which was currency until replaced by paper money and coins.

Used to weigh gold and merchandise, at first glance the goldweights look like miniature models of everyday objects. Based on the Islamic weight system, each weight had a known measurement. This provided merchants with secure and fair-trade arrangements with one another. The status of a man increased significantly if he owned a complete set of weights. Complete small sets of weights were gifts to newly wedded men. This insured that he would be able to enter the merchant trade respectably and successfully.

Beyond their practical application, the weights are miniature representations of West African culture items such as adinkra symbols, plants, animals and people.

Alligator goldweight

Geometric goldweight

Figurative goldweight

Stylistic studies of goldweights can provide relative dates into the two broad early and late periods. The Early period is thought to have been from about 1400–1720 AD, with some overlap with the Late period, 1700-1900 AD. There is a distinct difference between the Early and Late periods. Geometric weights are the oldest forms, dating from 1400 AD onwards while figurative weights, those made in the image of people, animals, building etc., first appear around 1600 AD..

Radiocarbon dating, a standard and accurate method in many disciplines, cannot be used to date the weights, as it is an inorganic material. The base components of inorganic materials, such as metals, formed long before the manufacturing of the artifact. The copper and zinc used to make the alloy are exponentially older than the artifact itself. Studies on the quality or origins of the base metals in brass are not very useful due to the broad distribution and recycling of the material.

Studying the weight’s cultural background or provenance is an accurate method of dating the weights. Historical records accompanying the weight describing the people to whom it belonged to, as well as a comparative study of the weights and oral and artistic traditions of neighbouring communities should be part of studying the background and provenance of the weights.

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