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Akua'ba fertility dolls
Ashanti culture, Ghana
First half of the 20th century
Wood, pigments and beads
H.: 38 ; W: 16 ; Thickness: 5 cm
This statuette with a stylized cylindrical body presents a particularly large disc-shaped face. Its eyebrow arches in relief meet in a long nose, its small mouth is made of two rectangular lips, its eyes are two circular dots with horizontal incisions.
Small holes at the level of the ears and the frontal extremity support ornaments of glass beads of different colors. Beaded ornaments are also found on the neck and feet of the doll.
The neck is fluted and marks the junction with the T-shaped body comprising straight arms, carved perpendicular to the bust - whose chest is manifested in two small cones, a belly with a raised umbilicus, and the feet appear to be enclosed in a circular base.
The term Akua'ba means "the child of Akua". This name refers to a myth from the Ashanti culture: a young woman called Akua had difficulty giving birth so she went to consult a priest-warrior. He advised her to carve a wooden figure of a child and to take care of it as if it were her own. Akua did so. Later, Akua gave birth to a daughter. These dolls have been a symbol of fertility ever since.
Text and photos © FCP CORIDON
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