Three zoomorphic goldweights ·  Ghana, Akan · ID: 3039419

Description

brass, casts from nature: crab claw (4 cm), lizard (7 cm) and beetle (4,5 cm), min. dam., slight traces of corrosion;
a beetle, already perfectly formed by nature, replaced a wax model. After the intense heat had turned the beetle into dust, its ashes would be shaken and blown away through the channel left by the melted sprue. Since the beetle, with its variety of species, is the most common example this technique has become referred to as the “lost beetle” process.

The object Three zoomorphic goldweights with the object ID 3039419 was part of the auction 81st Tribal Art Auction on October 31, 2015. The object with the lot number 269 achieved a sales price of EUR 260 with an asking price of EUR 200.

Here you will find more objects and interesting facts about African art.

Comparing literature

Phillips, Tom, African Goldweights, London 2010, p. 39