Chameleon? Antique Animal Shaped West African Ashanti Weight handmade ruler In an ebonized wooden frame

In an ebonized wooden frame

holding I assume an acorn in its paws

is quite an apt combo I think

Hand-turned

Chameleon? Antique Animal Shaped West African Ashanti Weight handmade ruler In an ebonized wooden frameTiny, but really wonderful, I believe this is a Akan (now Ghana) West African Ashnati weigh, used to for measuring out gold and gold dust, usually for trade. These weights, frequently figural and often in the shape of animals, were typically made of brass, as I believe this one is, cast using the lost wax method. I am tempted to say, with its large eye and coiled tail, that this one is meant to represent a chameleon, but I am not completely certain.