Spoon for Gold Dust
Artist Unidentified
20th century
Object PlaceGhana
Medium/TechniqueBrass
DimensionsOverall: 11.6 x 3.7 cm (4 9/16 x 1 7/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2542
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDecorative arts
Collections
Among the Akan speaking peoples of present-day Ghana, gold was both an essential commodity and a symbol of prestige. Gold was believed to have special powers and was included in human burials and protective medicines. This spoon, used for placing gold dust on a scale to be weighed, would have been an integral component of any monetary transaction.
ProvenanceGeneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
19th–20th century
