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Details
LOT 2352
African Wooden 'Akuaba Doll' Fertility Figure
ASHANTI TRIBE, 20TH CENTURY A.D.
12 3/8 in. (159 grams, 31.5 cm).
Carved from dark-coloured, lightweight wood in traditional form and dyed dark brown; with a large, round head, plain hairstyle, large eyes and typical tribal scarification marks on the forehead. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From Ghana, West Africa.
Ex private collection of Mr.N.J., Leicester, UK.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Footnotes
Among the Ashanti people in Ghana, women hoping for offspring carry these ‘Akuaba dolls’ in their clothes. Traditionally, these ‘Akuaba’ have a large, round, flat head that is reminiscent of its origin as a representation of the moon goddess, which is associated with fertility. Once the ‘Akuaba’ figure has fulfilled its purpose, the mother of the desired child places it on her domestic altar, where it is worshipped in a shrine, or she passes it on to the next generation.
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