Two Asante Akua'ba Fertility Dolls

Ghana, Akan peoples, carved wood with rich, dark patina, both with disk-like heads, abstracted features and arms with circular bases (Taller 16 x 6 1/4 x 2 1/2 in., smaller 14 1/2 x 6 x 2 1/2 in.).

From the Collection of the late Robert and Judith Weston, Detroit, Michigan

Akua'ba figures remain one of the most recognizable forms in African art. Akua'ba are used in a variety of contexts; primarily, however, they are consecrated by priests and carried by women who hope to conceive a child. The flat, disk-like head is a strongly exaggerated convention of the Akan ideal of beauty. The flattened shape of the sculpture also serves a practical purpose, since women carry the figures against their backs wrapped in their skirt, evoking the manner that infants are carried. The rings on the figure's neck are a standard convention for rolls of fat, a sign of beauty, health, and prosperity in Akan culture. The delicate mouth of the figure is small and set low on the face. Most akua'ba have abstracted horizontal arms and a cylindrical torso with simple indications of the breasts and navel; the torso ends in a base as opposed to human legs.

Information courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum.

Taller with small area of insect damage to underside; the shorter with a few scattered scuffs.