Chief's ring "mpetea" with scorpion · Ghana, Akan / Ashanti · ID: 3045197
Roland Hartmann, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Description
gold alloy ca.0,260 (6,24 carat), weight: 55,1 g,
There are a lot of proverbs associated with the scorpion. Probably the most plausible has to do with deception: “The scorpion does not bite with its mouth, but with its tail” - which means “the enemy may not fight you openly, but undermines you in secret”.
The object Chief’s ring “mpetea” with scorpion with the object ID 3045197 was part of the auction 91 Tribal Art Auction on March 9, 2019. The object with the lot number 164 achieved a sales price of EUR 600 with an asking price of EUR 500.
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Expertise
Nr. 548, Eidgenössisches Kontrollamt für Edelmetalle, Zurich, 9. 5.1986
Comparing literature
Museum Liaunig (Hg.), Das Gold der Akan, Neuhaus 2008, p. 104