BoW-4 / Akua'ba - Akan (Asante), Ghana

Height: 12.2” / 31 cm

ex Swedish collection
ex Karlsson | Wickman, Sweden
private collection, FL, USA

Wood, pigment

An exceptional figure that is, in my opinion, the finest example of this uncommon style. I enjoy the figure from the back as much as from the front, but it is the profile view that truly sets it apart. One of its most striking features is the neck, which is carved at a deliberate angle as it connects to the head. This is an uncommon treatment among akua’ba, and although I have seen a few other examples with a comparable approach, none have matched the confidence or elegance of this one. The pronounced tilt introduces a subtle sense of motion and gives the figure a sculptural presence that immediately distinguishes it. Ron has an example in his book Akua’ba Asante Wednesday Child, figure #2505, that is surely by the same hand as this one.

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