The Hunterian has recently received a special donation of several African artefacts which are already being used for teaching and research.

The donation was made by University of Glasgow alumna Cathleen Duff who studied Zoology at the University and comes from a family of Glasgow graduates.

The items include a Nigerian mask, Manilla currency item and thirty-six Asante weights which make enriching additions to The Hunterian collections.

The items are thought to have been collected by her father, Charles Murchland Morrison. The mask was brought back from Nigeria before 1936 and is considered to be based on an Ekoi crest mask.

The Asante weights, used as a measuring system for gold dust, complement the existing Hunterian collection and were collected between 1937 and 1950, when Mrs Duff´s father was teaching in the former British colony of Gold Coast (now Ghana) as part of the Church of Scotland´s foreign mission. They depict various people and animals and some are beautifully finished.

The Hunterian is particularly grateful for this donation because of its use for teaching and research. The Asante weights information and images will also be added to the British Museum database to further ongoing research.

Article by Christine Hafner, Erasmus student and Club21 intern.

First published: 12 February 2015

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