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Box for Gold Dust
Akan
20th century
Object Place: Ghana
Medium/Technique
Brass
Dimensions
Overall: 2 x 6.2 cm (13/16 x 2 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2543
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsDecorative arts
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. A box such as this one would have been used to store gold dust or gold nuggets, which served as the primary form of currency.
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)