Goldweight: pangolin (armadillo) ·  Ghana, Akan · ID: 3036259

Description

brass, patina, scale armour indicated, naturalistic appeal;
of all animals the pangolin comes in for the most divergent sculptural treatments both as the quiet looking searcher of the undergrowth, and alternatively, as if to emphasize its other name, producing a spectacular display of erectile scales. In either mode a reputation for inedibility accompanies it, expressed in the following proverb: “Whatever you do don’t serve me the meat of the pangolin”.

The object Goldweight: pangolin (armadillo) with the object ID 3036259 was part of the auction 76th tribal art auction on March 22, 2014. The object with the lot number 353 achieved a sales price of EUR 500 with an asking price of EUR 300.

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Comparing literature

Phillips, Tom, African Goldweights, London 2010, p. 146

Publications

Büse, J.E., Akan-Goldgewichte: Eine Kultur in Bronze, in: Sammler-Journal 2 (1979), p. 82