Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 2374
African Wooden Fertility Figure
BAULE TRIBE, EARLY-MID 20TH CENTURY A.D.
13 3/4 in. (904 grams, 35 cm).
A carved standing figure with an elaborate hairstyle tied back with a band; scarification to the face. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.
From a Glasgow ethnographical collection; formed 1940s-1950s.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Footnotes
Baule statues are usually standing on a base with legs slightly bent, with their hands resting on their abdomen in a gesture of peace, and their elongated necks supporting a face with typically raised scarification and bulging eyes.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
African Wooden Ancestor Figure
Yoruba Tribe, 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
A hand-carved standing female figure with hands placed by the side and scarification to the face, breasts and stomach. 600 grams, 44.5 cm
From Southwest Nigeria, West Africa. From an old Bristol, UK, ethnographical collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Human figures are represented in a fundamentally naturalistic way, except for bulging eyes; flat, protruding, and usually parallel lips; and stylised ears. Within the basic canon of Yoruba sculpture, many local styles can be distinguished, down to the hand of the individual artist. -
African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
Baule Tribe, early-mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
A wooden tribal oval mask with wide open mouth displaying teeth, a large narrow nose, hatched crest. 1.63 kg, 36 cm
From Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. From a Glasgow ethnographical collection; formed 1940s-1950s. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
African Wooden 'Akuaba Doll' Fertility Figure
Ashanti Tribe, late 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
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. 532 grams, 46.5 cm
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.
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.
