Akan or Baule Cast Gold Family Portrait

One of the rarer objects in the collection is an exceptional, fine Asante or Baulé “royal” gold weight or prestige object, Ghana/ Côte d’Ivoire. While gold weights are commonly cast in bronze, this special object of great prestige is cast in yellow gold. It was likely made by a master caster for a family of high status. It measures 6cm H and weighs 45 grams. The image is rare for this type of object- suggesting a portrait of a ruling family. A nude male sits with a nude female nursing a child. Notable details are the braided crown on the male’s head often seen in early Asante styles and the three tiered base of the Akan stool which the family sits upon.
To add to the rarity and survival of such a piece is the fact that older gold items are frequently melted and recycled into newer fashions. EX Paul Tishman collection, by descent (NY). “Paul Tishman was often asked why he and his wife Ruth decided to collect African art. His simple reply: How does one fall in love?” Most of the Tishman collection was bought by the Walt Disney company in the mid 80s and in 2005, Disney donated all 525 objects in the collection to the Smithsonian National Museum of African art.