Abrammuo: Antelope

A visual-verbal nexus forms the core of Akan arts. Visual arts can refer to multiple proverbs and stories, and in turn, words evoke specific symbolic imagery. The Akan abrammuo (gold weight, pl. mrammuo) would have contained potential references to numerous stylized verbal expressions. 

Artists probably began making figural gold weights in the late seventeenth century or early eighteenth century. Gold weights depicted objects, animals, and people associated with Akan symbols of power, wisdom, and wealth. Most portraits depict adult men, but some represent women and children as well. The characters and scenes in figural gold weights might be interpreted as offering guidance, warning, or entertainment. 

Akan peoples may have communicated with gold weights in varying ways. Those in royal treasuries may have been used to instruct children of the court. A trader might have sent messages to debtors through a gold weight. A king’s royal symbols asserted his authority. When in use in a market, gold weights might have facilitated conversations around business transactions.