Mother and child seated on Ashanti high quality Chief Stool

This incredibly intricate piece of work was made by master craftsman Goldweightsmith Kofi Dwumfour from Kumasi capital of Ashanti in the 1980s.


This Goldweight depicts a mother and child seated on an Ashanti stool. The stool is one of the main focal points of the Asante today because it still shows succession and power.The most important and sacred Asante stool is the Golden Stool. It represents the authority of the Asantehene (king), enshrines the soul of the nation, and symbolizes the kingdom's unity. Made of solid gold, the Golden Stool never touches the ground; it is carried in processionals and has its own throne.


Ashanti Goldweights, made of brass were originally used as weights for measuring gold in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Ghana was formerly known as the 'Gold Coast' and the Ashanti Region was also called The Kingdom of Gold. Each Goldweight representing a different figure would be equivalent to a different weight. This bicycle would be used for quite a large weight of gold.

The figures are sculpted using an ancient method and are first sculpted in wax and then covered in a mud/clay mould. A hole is left in this mould. The mould is then baked in a clay oven and the 'lost wax' melts and secretes through the hole. Once it is cooled molten brass is then poured into the empty mould. It is an ancient method of casting dates back as early as 3700BCE. high quality