Asante Akua'ba doll
Forms and fertility in African art
Among the Akan and Ashanti, when a woman wishes to give birth, she orders from the sculptor a statuette with an elongated conical body and a head in the form of a circular plate. This African Ashanti akua'ba doll is a superb example.
The scarifications present on the front and the back of the head may be present for simple aesthetic reasons but may also carry cultural or religious significance.
She then places this statue on a dedicated altar: we see it in the contextual photo of an altar dedicated to Tano, the deity of the river, where there are several akua'ba dolls.
After a lapse of time, she takes the figurine back and takes care of it like a newborn baby.
01631
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Circa 1960
- Size
- 33 cm
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood
- Country
- Origin
- B. Levi, Paris
- Condition
- Excellent
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Forms and fertility in African art
Among the Akan and Ashanti, when a woman wishes to give birth, she orders from the sculptor a statuette with an elongated conical body and a head in the form of a circular plate. This African Ashanti akua'ba doll is a superb example.
The scarifications present on the front and the back of the head may be present for simple aesthetic reasons but may also carry cultural or religious significance.
She then places this statue on a dedicated altar: we see it in the contextual photo of an altar dedicated to Tano, the deity of the river, where there are several akua'ba dolls.
After a lapse of time, she takes the figurine back and takes care of it like a newborn baby.