C.1900, ex: Sir Cecil Armitage Collection. Copper rich bronze, 1 1/8” length. Formed as a beetle and made from nature. An actual beetle was encased in molding clay, as would be a wax pattern, then the mold was fired which consumed the beetle leaving a cavity in its place. Liquid bronze filled the cavity and formed a bronze beetle, seen here. These weights were originally used to measure it for transactions. They represent proverbs which were integral to Ashanti culture and later, were exchanged as gifts.