1: Ashanti, Ghana: it used to be that gold dust – found in the rivers – was the form of currency (before the introduction of coins) in the Ashanti territory and that of their neighbouring tribes (Baule and others). During commercial transactions or bride price payments this gold dust was weighed with figurative and geometric ‘gold-weights’. The ‘gold-weights’ were made of yellow cast-alloy (brass) using ‘waste mould’ casting. The present ‘gold-weight’ represents a sawfish. Length: 7.5 cm; width: 6 cm.
2: Mbugu, Tanzania: a choker made from a piece of thick copper wire, the ends are curled into a circle and the whole piece is wrapped in thinner copper wire. Diameter: 14 cm x 15 cm.
3: Maasai, Kenya, Tanzania: a tightly curled, flat spiral made of brass, called ‘Surutia’. Among the Maasai people, women wear these brass spirals as pectoral ornaments. The two pieces side by side hang on a leather band around the neck. This type of jewellery indicates that the wearer is a mother. Diameter: 8 cm; length: c. 42 cm (with band).
4: Senufo, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali or from the Lobi in Burkina Faso: a small ‘chameleon ring’ made from bronze. The Senufo and the Lobi people wear rings such as this one, topped with a chameleon, as a protective amulet against illnesses and ‘evil spirits’. Cast from bronze using the ‘waste mould’ technique. Diameter: 2 cm (the ring alone); height: 3.5 cm (with chameleon).
5: Dogon, Mali: a so-called ‘fertility ring’ with two projections. Made from yellow cast-alloy (brass) using the ‘waste mould’ technique. Diameter: 2.8 cm (the ring alone); height: 5.3 cm (with projections).
All five objects in this mixed lot show good, old traces of use and wear. First half of the 20th century. (ME)