Goldweight: pangolin (armadillo) · Ghana, Akan · ID: 3036259
sold
EUR 500
Provenance
Jürgen & Gisela Büse, Rheinbreitbach, Germany (collected in situ, 1973-75)Size
L: 6 cm
L: 2.4 inch
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”.
Comparing literature
Phillips, Tom, African Goldweights, London 2010, p. 146