2000.229.63.FA Gold weight

Proverb: The crocodile lies in the water, but it also drinks the air.

Meaning: If you want to be strong and powerful, you must also be adaptable. 

This goldweight shaped like a crocodile is associated with the proverb above. The earliest goldweights were made of stone, copper, iron, or basalt. As the trans-Saharan trade routes became more established, the Akan learned the technique of brass casting from their North African trading partners, which allowed them to create figurative goldweights. These utilitarian objects gained significance because their imagery signified a proverb or maxim. 

Until 2000: The Alfred and Juanita Bromberg Collection

2000: Dallas Museum of Art Foundation for the Arts, bequest of Juanita K. Bromberg [1] 

The main source for this provenance is the Dallas Museum of Art object receipt, dated November 2, 1999, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records object file. Exceptions and supporting documentation are noted. 

[1] The Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit corporation created as a title-holding entity to serve the people of Dallas but to operate independently of the City. The Dallas Museum of Art (at its own cost) is responsible for the care, storage, insurance, conservation and maintenance of the collection, and agrees to maintain the highest museum standards in the management and handling of the Foundation’s collection. The title to all works of art purchased or otherwise acquired by the Foundation for the Arts is retained by the Foundation.

Apply to objects where number equals 2000.229.63.FA