Asante (Ashanti) weight in the form of a coiled snake gripping a bird in its mouth

One of 84 Asante (Ashanti) brass weights for measuring gold in the form of a bird being attacked by a coiled snake.

This is an Asante (Ashanti) weight in the form of a coiled snake gripping a bird in its mouth. It was used by the Asante people of West Africa to measure and trade commodities. Asante 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.

This one represents the Asante proverb ‘the snake on the ground has caught the bird in the sky’. The proverb tells the story of a snake that lent money to a bird. The bird refused to repay the debt but was eventually caught by the snake when it flew down to drink water during a drought. The proverb can be interpreted in many ways. It may encourage patience, suggesting that justice or success will come in time, while also reminding us not to worry when a goal seems impossible to achieve. Birds featured frequently in Asante weights and could symbolise the transcendence of boundaries, particularly between the earth and the sky. However, individual bird motifs could also convey other specific meanings drawn from Akan proverbs and cultural traditions.

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.