Akua’ba Fertility Figure
Female Figure (akua'ba)
Attribution follows a published museum catalogue or peer-reviewed scholarship. Object is held in a public collection under a published accession number.
An infertile woman would be advised by a priest to commission such a sculpture and care for it as if it were her baby. With the aim to induce fertility, or to ensure the birth of a healthy and beautiful daughter, the akua’ba figure is carried on the woman’s back inside her wrapper. After a successful birth, the figure is placed in the priest’s shrine as an offering, or it is given to the newborn as a toy.
Catalogued by Cleveland Museum of Art as “Female Figure (akua’ba)”, dated late 1800s–early 1900s. Harvested from the museum’s open-access record; every field below is copied from that record and none of it has been inferred.
Record
| People / culture | Ashanti |
|---|---|
| Country | Ghana |
| Common name | Female Figure (akua'ba) |
| Materials | Wood, hair, resin, and bone |
| Dimensions | Overall: 42.9 x 4.6 x 5.1 cm (16 7/8 x 1 13/16 x 2 in.) |
Provenance
Katherine C. White [1929-1980], Gates Mills, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (at least 1968–1976)
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1976–)
| Collection | Cleveland Museum of Art |
|---|---|
| Accession number | 1975.158 |
Source
https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.158
This record is a catalogue entry, not an appraisal, valuation or legal determination. Nothing here should be read as evidence that an object was lawfully acquired or exported.