Vintage 20th Century Akuaba Hand Carved Fertility Wooden Doll

Vintage Akuaba Hand Carved Fertility Wooden Doll
estimated era 20th Century
H 15in x W 6in, has rose detail dangle earrings

The appearance of the Asante akua'ba is as distinctive as the story about it. Typically it features a disc-shaped head with
the face confined to the bottom half or even third of the disc. The mouth is generally positioned at the very bottom, leaving no chin.
Eyes shaped like coffee beans or half moons are framed by long, arching eyebrows that connect at the bridge of the nose. Two or
three short horizontal or plus-shaped incisions mark the cheeks; these are not signs of ethnic identity but rather representations of medicinal scars employed to protect children from a variety of illnesses. A ringed neck supports the head. Short, cone-shaped arms project at right angles from the upper body, but the figure is usually legless, having instead a base slightly larger in diameter than its cylindrical torso.
Her body has been reduced to a tubular form with small arms, a ringed neck, and a large, flat head. By emphasizing certain features, the artist has communicated the Akan ideal of female beauty.
An Akuaba fertility doll symbolises the force of tradition. In Ghana, such figures are believed to assist a woman who wants to conceive a baby.
The name akua ba comes from the Akan legend of a woman named Akua who was barren, but like all Akan women, she desired most of all to bear children. She consulted a priest who instructed her to commission the carving of a small wooden child and to carry the surrogate child on her back as if it were real.
Estate item sold as is , non returnable, non refundable.