This stunning brass scorpion was created by a member of the Asante (also spelled Ashanti) tribe of Ghana. The Asante Kingdom was founded in 1701 by Osei Tutu with its capital at Kumasi. Comprised of seven matrilinear clans ruled by a king, this African kingdom has been able to preserve much of its venerated traditions for over 250 years. In the complicated religious system of the Asante, Nyame is the highest god. Nyame is both male and female, the great mother, creator of the world and also father of the earthly kings. Asaase Afua, a daughter of Nyame, is the goddess of the good earth, of fertility, and procreation. Her counterpart is Asaase Yaa, who represents sterility and the underworld. Her symbols, one of which is the scorpion, are to be found on brass weights such as this striking example. Highly stylized and artistic, this brass weight incorporates symbols of Nyame as well, in the form of circles that shape the scorpion’s tail and parts of its head. Omnipotent symbolism and dramatic imagery combine to make this brass weight a dynamic work of art, one that propels our senses into the realm of the African spirits.