BoW-26 / Akua'ba - Akan (Fante), Ghana

Height: 10.75 in / 27.3 cm

ex private collection, MD, USA
ex Donald Morris Gallery, NY, USA 1971

Wood, pigment, beads, string

A very nice, classic old Fante akua’ba with a beautifully worn surface. What really draws me to this figure are the designs carved into the back of the head—I almost always display it with the back facing out because of that. The figure is very similar to one in the National Museum of African Art’s collection (object 68-36-333), including the carved back design, and may well be by the same carver. link

$1800 plus shipping