BoW-33 / Akua'ba - Akan (Asante), Ghana

Height: 8 in / 20.3 cm

ex private collection, Netherlands
ex Louis Nierijnck, Netherlands

Wood, pigment, beads, string

I have two figures in this unusual but documented style, and interestingly, both came from the same collector before finding their way to me through different paths. Figures from this carver, or workshop, consistently share the same designs on the back, while the faces show subtle variation. The upward slant of the eyes gives this figure a very different presence than something like BoW-3—more intense, and more direct. That contrast is one of the reasons I enjoy presenting a broad group: to highlight not just the similarities, but especially the differences. This is another figure that holds up just as well from the back as from the front, and the draped strands of very small beads across the head and down one side add a gentle, almost graceful note to an otherwise fairly severe form. I like the small size of the two figures that I have.

$1800 plus shipping