The Ashanti, Asante, mastered the art of lost-wax casting, with copper-based metal considered sacred and regarded as inferior to gold, in order to produce ritual and prestige objects, such as the brass Kuduo intended, apart from storing gold dust, for use in domestic, family, and royal worship. Sacrifices and offerings were sometimes made to them. They were also sometimes buried with their owner. The box is accompanied by a set of old gold weights of various shapes, both geometric and figurative. The Ashanti are one of the ethnic groups of Ghana (formerly the "Gold Coast"), belonging to the Akans group, living in a forested region. Like other peoples living in the central and southern parts of Ghana, they speak a language of the Twi group. This people consider women to be the final arbiters of all decisions. Fertility and children are the most common themes represented in Ashanti wooden sculptures. Provenance: Jean-Michel Huguenin, Paris