Female Figure: Akua ba

Artist Akan people, Asante subgroup

Place of OriginGhana

DateLate 19th - early 20th century

Dimensions11 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 1 5/8 in. (29.2 × 11.4 × 4.1 cm)

MediumWood, beads, glass, string and metal wire.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1989.110

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 01

Label TextAn akua ba figure is a symbol of an Akan mother’s hope for a child. It assists a woman to conceive and provides added protection during pregnancy. A woman treats her akua ba as if it were an actual infant, carrying it with her, feeding and bathing it, and giving it gifts, such as beaded jewelry. Akua bas generally feature a large, flat, round head surmounting a stick-like body with arms but no legs. This more elaborate example may have been a commission from a wealthy patron, such as a diviner or a chief. The high round forehead and symmetrical features uphold Ashanti ideals of beauty and goodness.Published References

Elisofon, E., and W. Fagg, The Sculptures of Africa, New York, 1958, p. 107, no. 136 and p. 255, no. 136.

The Toledo Museum of Art 1989-1990 Annual Report, Toledo, 1990, p. 15, repr. (col.).

"La chronique des arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 117, no. 1466, March, 1991, repr. p. 62.

Roberts, Mary Nooter, Facing Africa: The African Art Collection of the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 1998, pp. 12-13, repr. (col.).

Comparative ReferencesSee also Cole, H.M., and D.H. Ross, The Arts of Ghana, Los Angeles, UCLA Museum of Cultural History, 1977, pp. 103-107.

cf. McLeod, M., The Asante, London, British Museum, 1981, pp. 162-165.

cf. Sieber, R. and R.A. Walker, African Art in the Cycle of Life, Washington, D.C., National Museum of African Art, exh. cat., Sept. 28, 1987-Mar. 20, 1988, cat. no. 13.