Three Antique Akua'ba Ashanti Wood and Beads Fertility Dolls on Marble Bases

About Auction

Timed

Fine Arts, Antiques and Jewelry Online Auctio...

By Aspire Auctions

Aug 29, 2025 - Sep 6, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-08-29 10:00:00 2025-09-06 20:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Arts, Antiques and Jewelry Online Auction https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/aspire-auctions/fine-arts-antiques-and-jewelry-online-auction-20458
Aspire Auctions katya@aspireauctions.com

View Full Catalog (1733)

• Lot Description
  Consisting of three large different sizes traditional carved wood Akuba dolls with beads, attached (can be removed) to modern black marble bases. Disk-headed 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, disklike head is a strongly exaggerated convention of the Akan ideal of beauty: a high, oval forehead, slightly flattened in actual practice by gentle modeling of an infant's soft cranial bones. 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. The small scars just discernible below the eyes of this figure refer to a local medical practice as protection against convulsions. 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.

  Condition

  Good, some wear and small losses, can be removed - not permanently attached to bases.