Eighty-four Asante (Ashanti) weights in cast brass

Eighty-four Asante weights in cast brass, comprising:- series (a) "Human occupations", 9; (b) "Animals, birds and fish", 21; (c) "Implements" 16; (d) Flat block weights with geometric designs, 30; (e) "Pagoda", 3; (f) "Fruit and suds", 3; (g) "Pyramids", 2

Asante weights, also known as Ashanti weights, were used by the Asante people of West Africa to measure and trade commodities. The Asante were part of the wider Akan civilisation, which comprised several populations that shared a language and many cultural traditions. They were primarily located in what is now Ghana.

The region became known as the ‘Gold Coast’ because of its long-established and lucrative gold trade, which connected Akan states with merchants from across West Africa and European traders with whom they eventually also exchanged enslaved people and firearms. Gold brought considerable wealth to the region contributing to the rise of powerful Akan states. From around 1700, the Asante consolidated their power and expanded to become one of the most powerful empires in West Africa until after a series of conflicts, the British annexed it as a colony in 1902.

The earliest known Asante weights date from the 14th century. Despite being commonly referred to as “gold weights,” they are made from brass and were used to measure gold dust. Gold dust was the primary currency throughout West Africa by the middle of the 18th century.

The weights were produced in a wide variety of shapes, patterns, and sizes by skilled metalworkers. Each design could carry a particular meaning and provide an insight into the Akan people and their culture. Most likely the earlier weights were decorated with geometric shapes, and they became increasingly figurative from around the 18th century. They often depicted people, animals, objects, and other recognisable forms, many of which represented Asante proverbs.