| ASANTE (ACHANTI, ASHANTE, ASHANTI) Ghana |
| Asante akua'ba figure The legend of the origination of the Akua'ba doll comes from the story of a woman named "Akua" (many variations of the name are found as there are many variations of the spelling of "akua'ba") who could not get pregnant and went to a local diviner or priest and commissioned the carving of a small wooden doll. She carried and cared for the doll as if it were her own child, feeding it, bathing it and so on. Soon the people in the village started calling it "Akua" "ba" - meaning "Akua's child", since "ba" meant child. She soon became pregnant and her daughter grew up with the doll. The legend and tradition still live on today... If an Akan/Asante woman had difficulty conceiving she would be encouraged to visit a local shrine accompanied by a senior woman in her family. There she might purchase a figure such as this, which would be placed for a period on the altar, later to be reclaimed by the woman along with certain medicines. The sculpture was then carried, fed, bathed, and otherwise cared for by the woman as if it was a living baby. It was thought that in doing this the woman would have a better chance to have a healthy and beautiful baby. Once the woman conceived and had a successful delivery, she would return the figure to the shrine as a form of offering. If the child died, the akua’ba might be kept by the woman as a memorial. The symbolism of these dolls is specific: “The flat, disk like head is a strongly exaggerated conception of the Akan ideal of beauty: Round or oval shaped heads are considered ideal and this is accomplished in actual practice by the gently modeling of an infant’s soft cranial bones. The flat profile of these figures is also more practical when they are carried against the back wrapped in the woman’s skirt. Also standard is the ringed neck, a convention for rolls of fat and hence beauty and prosperity…the small scars seen on the faces of many akua’ba are those made for medicinal purposes as protection against convulsions. Most Asante akua’ba have abstracted, horizontal arms and a cylindrical torso with breasts and a navel, but ending in a base rather than human legs. Sources: Sotheby's, AFRICA - The Art of A Continent, The Royal Art of Africa |
| A Fante mother carrying her child in a wrapper on her back. Photograph by Doran H. Ross Legu, Ghana, 1976 |
| An akua'ba tucked into the wrapper of an Asante woman. Photograph by Herbert M. Cole, Ghana, 1972 |
| The objects below are not in my collection Examples below for reference purposes |
| Acuaba Fertility Doll - Ghana Carved wood, beads - Early 20th century Ex Collection Charles Ratton Height: 10 ¼ in. Galerie Flak, Paris |
| An example of a different style with arms and legs represented in the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY Akuaba Figure, 19th–20th century Akan peoples; Ghana Wood, beads, string; H. 10 2/3 in. The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.75) |
| A Fante doll on the left and 2 akua'ba ( plural- akua'mma) on the right. This was a photo I took at the American Museum of Natural History in NY The examples below are also from the collection at the American Museum of Natural History in NY |
| American Museum of Natural History, NY |
| American Museum of Natural History, NY |
| American Museum of Natural History, NY |
| American Museum of Natural History, NY |
| American Museum of Natural History, NY |
| American Museum of Natural History, NY _______________________________________________________________________ |
| THE PETER SCHNELL COLLECTION f - BELLE POUPÉE DE FERTILITÉ, ASHANTI, AKAN, GHANA LOCATION ESTIMATE AUCTION DATE Paris 1,500—2,500 EUR Session 2 05 Dec 03 6:00 PM Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 2,280 EUR haut. 33,9 cm DETAILED DESCRIPTION Grande figure akwaba, aux traits et volumes fortement stylisés. Selon les archétypes de la beauté en pays Akan, l’accent est mis sur le large visage, au traitement épuré : grand disque légèrement convexe uniquement animé par la ligne courbe des sourcils, et par le relief des grands yeux, du nez et de la bouche; front haut et long cou annelé. Elle est ornée, en sa base, de cinq colliers de perles de verre. (Rough translation) Great figure akwaba, with the strongly stylized features and volumes. According to prototypes' of the beauty in Akan country, the stress is laid on the broad face, with the purified treatment: large slightly convex disc only animated by the curved line of the eyebrows, and by the relief of the large eyes, the nose and the mouth; high face and long ringed neck. It is decorated, in its base, of five collars of glass shots. PROVENANCE Collectée par E. Storrer dans la région de Coasoet. Acquise par son propriétaire en 1974 |
| Christie's - Paris Art Africain, Océanien et Précolombien Auction Date : Dec 8, 2004 Lot 102 : POUPEE ASHANTI Description Ghana Akua'ba, le corps cylindrique reposant sur une base circulaire, supportant deux bras horizontaux, la grande tête ovale aplatie avec les traits du visage stylisés en relief, le revers de la tête décoré d'un échiquier entouré de motifs géométriques incisés, collier de perles de verre blanches à la base. Patine noire et brillante. Hauteur: 31.7 cm Estimate:€ 600 - € 800 Price Realized:€ 1,997 / $ 2,406 |
| Christie's - Paris Art Africain, Océanien et Précolombien Auction Date : Dec 8, 2004 Lot 101 : POUPEE ASHANTI Description Ghana Akua'ba, le corps cylindrique reposant sur une base circulaire, supportant deux bras horizontaux, la grande tête ronde, aplatie, avec les traits du visage sculptés en relief, le revers de la tête décoré de motifs géométriques, colliers en perles de verre multicolores autour du cou et à la base. Patine noire et brillante. Hauteur: 26 cm Estimate:€ 1,000 - € 1,500 Price Realized:€ 4,700 / $ 5,663 |
| To go to a FANTASTIC article on akua'ba dolls and LOTS of examples of Akua'ba dolls, click on the link below AKUA'S CHILD AND OTHER RELATIVES: NEW MYTHOLOGIES FOR OLD DOLLS by DORAN H. ROSS |
| The piece below is a spectacular Asante seated female figure holding a gun in one hand and a bird (dove?) in the other. I have seen this piece in person and it is simply amazing! I don't have the exact dimensions, but the piece is at least 4 feet tall. It is in the McDonald-Levy Collection |
| A group of Akua'ba dolls on display at Galerie Afrique in their space for Parcours des mondes 2006 in Paris |
| Ashanti/Asante or Bobo/Brong akua'ba figure wood, pigment 9" tall ex Gregory Ghent ex collection of Helena and Ladislas Segy who originally acquired the figure in the 60's |
