BoW-15 / Akua'ba - Akan (Asante), Ghana

Height: 13 in / 33 cm

ex private collection, USA

Wood, pigment

This figure falls into a group of akua’mma with more naturalized facial features. Osei Bonsu (1900–1977) is well known for this approach and for the objects he carved for Asante chiefs and royalty. He began carving at a young age and trained under his father, Kwaku Bempah (d. 1936), before eventually establishing his own workshops.

When I shared an image of this figure with my friend John Monroe, who is very familiar with Osei Bonsu’s work, he felt it closely resembled figures attributed to Osei’s father, though he could not be certain. I never pursued this further, and unfortunately the work of Kwaku Bempah is not documented in the same way as that of his son. As a result, it is not possible to make a definitive attribution.

It is equally plausible that this figure emerged from one of the workshops Osei Bonsu oversaw, as it shares the general character and naturalism associated with his circle. While the precise hand remains unknown, the figure clearly sits within that broader tradition.

$1200 plus shipping