ASANTE, GHANA

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Disk-headed akuaba figures are perhaps one of the most iconic forms in the African sculptural corpus. They are ritually consecrated images of children carried by aspiring mothers who wish to overcome barrenness and conceive through the power of community spirits. Their use arose from an ancestral legend about a woman named Akua who used such a figure for exactly this purpose. Akuaba (‘Akua’s child’) are carried flat against the small of the back and wrapped in skirts, just as a human child would be. After aiding a successful pregnancy, the figures are placed in shrines in testament to the spirits’ power, or kept by the family as a reminder of their child.

This fine akuaba shows the classic characteristics of its type, with a wide disk head, arched eyebrows and nose in relief, horizontal arms, and a cylindrical torso. The flat surface of the facial disk is quite sparingly detailed, focusing on the joined hook design that traces the nose and eyebrows. A neck of stacked rings suggests robust health and prosperity. Small, close-set breasts identify the figure as female, which akuaba invariably are. Beads wrap the base of the figure, and are also found in a small detail attachment at the very top of the head. The reverse side of the head is engraved with a handsome, semi-geometrical design.

Repair to one arm.

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