BoW-8 / Akua'ba - Akan (Fante), Ghana

Height: 16 in / 40.6 cm

ex Nancy and John Devoe, NY, USA

Wood, pigment, beads, string, hair

Another figure that feels archaic to me, and it shares characteristics with some of the documented early collected examples. It is a challenging figure to photograph for me in a way that captures its essence when you’re holding it in your hands. There is relatively little written specifically about the use of kaolin on Fante akua’ba figures. It’s a known practice for Akan priests to color themselves with kaolin, but when mentioned, kaolin is usually noted in passing within broader discussions of Akan ritual practice, where it is associated with purity, fertility, and spiritual activation, yet it is rarely explored as part of the figure’s visual language. For me, traces of kaolin draw attention away from surface finish and toward use, suggesting renewal and repeated engagement over time rather than a fixed or finished state.

Fante akua’ba are less often discussed in relation to shrine use than Asante examples, yet signs of ritual life do appear. Traces of handling and surface traces, along with substances such as kaolin, suggest that some figures were actively engaged rather than passively kept.

$2000 plus shipping