Asante Gold Dust Scales Côte d'Ivoire

Gold dust scale pans were used by the Asante Empire and other Akan-speaking peoples of West Africa as part of an elaborate gold trading system. Before the widespread use of coinage, gold dust served as currency throughout the region, especially in present-day Ghana. Merchants carefully weighed small amounts of gold dust using finely crafted brass scales and decorative pans to ensure fair trade transactions.

The scale pans themselves were typically made of brass and paired with small counterweights, often cast using the lost-wax method. While functional, they were also highly artistic, featuring geometric patterns, animals, symbols, and motifs connected to Akan proverbs, leadership, morality, and spirituality. These objects reflected both wealth and cultural identity.

Among the Asante, ownership of a complete gold weight set, including pans, weights, scoops, and scales, was a sign of prosperity and participation in long-distance trade networks that linked West Africa to North Africa and Europe. Today, surviving examples are prized for their craftsmanship and historical importance, representing the sophistication of pre-colonial West African commerce and artistry.

Provenance: Robert Pearson Collection

Bob Pearson began collecting African art later in his life. He was an engineer, an inveterate climber, and a long-time collector of books and paintings. Spurred by the Douglas Society at the Denver Museum of Art, and his friendship with noted collector George Heggarty, he began building an enormous, eclectic collection. His African art library grew to several hundred books. He loved textiles and “material culture”-things that had domestic use, like spoons, cups, stools, and chairs, as well as masks and carvings. His collection included items from more than thirty African countries, and his fine eye gave him pieces ranging from a gold dust scale to huge Dogon figural ladders. Africa Direct is honored to have been chosen to sell them.

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