BoW-6 / Akua'ba - Akan (Asante), Ghana

Height: 14 in / 35.5 cm

ex private German collection
ex Adrian Schlag, Brussels
ex Guilhem Montagut, Spain

Wood, pigment, string, beads

What draws me to this figure is its archaic presence. The arms and legs are bent, giving it a sense of quiet tension rather than stiffness. Figures with legs are uncommon, and when they do appear they are often armless, have simple arms carved in relief on the side, or have very simplified arms that extend straight out from the body. What sets this example apart is the way the arms are carved, separated from the torso before rejoining at the hands. I’ve only seen this approach a few times on akua’mma. One clear comparison appears in Akua’ba: Asante Wednesday Child, figure no. 3601, which I believe was carved by the same hand. That figure shares not only the same arm construction, but also the same design on the back.

The mouth is especially worn, far more than the surrounding areas of the face, and it’s something I keep coming back to. Some akua’ba were known to be fed, and while there’s no way to be certain, the soft abrasion here feels like the result of repeated contact rather than age alone. Taken together—the bent posture, the suspended arms, and the worn mouth—this figure feels deeply used and purposeful to me, shaped as much by ritual handling as by the hand of the carver.

$2700 plus shipping