Gold Weight in Form of a Bird

Asante people, Ghana, African

  • Titles Gold Weight in Form of a Bird (Descriptive)
  • Medium brass
  • Dimensions 1 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 in. (3.8 x 1.3 x 1.3 cm)
  • Credit Line Gift of Drs. Noble and Jean Endicott, 1991.1123
  • Work Type gold weight
  • Classification Tools & Equipment

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Mbulu Ngulu
Standing male power figure with bent arms resting on distended abdomen; below abdomen, figure is unarticulated block, partially covered by animal skin and waist ornaments (large bell and metal jangles attached to cord). Animal horn emerges vertically from top of head. Face has slitted, bulbous eyes, broad nose, protruding and slightly upturned open mouth, square beard. Necklace of glass beads, animal teeth, seed pods hangs from neck onto abdomen. Umbilical area has opening where medicinal materials once existed.
Rattle, Democratic Republic of the Congo, African, fiber, string, seed pods
Face mask with rabbit features. Narrow vertical oval ears painted red with white interiors; protruding conical black eyes surrounded by concentric black rings with white pigment in-between; protruding open triangular mouth/snout, painted black, adorned with small incised triangles painted white and red. Oval perimeter of back of mask pierced with multiple holes to enable attachment of mask to dancer's head as well as attachment of fiber costume. This type of mask is worn by men during funeral or initiation ceremonies. Animal masks commemorate encounters that people have had with ancestors who appeared in the form of an animal.