Female figure ("Akuaba")
Maker
Ghanaian
Label TextBearing children is an essential goal for Akan women. A woman who has difficulty conceiving, or who wishes to ensure her baby’s well being, commissions an akua ba from a woodcarver at the advice of a priest. The broad head, neck rings and high forehead are indications of an ideal appearance. Throughout the pregnancy, the akua ba is treated well and after birth, it remains one of the woman’s most cherished possessions.
Object number81.17.325
Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Text by Robert Farris Thompson. No cat. no., pp. 53-54, reproduced pl. 59 (as "akuaba").Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
Dimensions15 x 5 3/4 in. (38.1 x 14.6 cm)
MediumWood
Object number: 81.17.443
Object number: 51.49
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