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Details
LOT 2360
African Wooden 'Akuaba Doll' Fertility Figure
ASHANTI TRIBE, LATE 20TH CENTURY A.D.
18 3/8 in. (532 grams, 46.5 cm).
Carved from light-coloured, lightweight wood in traditional form and dyed black; large, round head, with striated hairstyle to the centre, large eyes and three short lines representing the typical tribal scarification marks on the forehead; tapering body and stub arms, tiered base. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From Ghana, West Africa.
From the private collection of Mr N.J., Leicester, UK; acquired circa 2010.
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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