The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 10, 2022

Female Figure (akua'ba)

late 1800s–early 1900s

Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Fante-style maker

Wood, hair, resin, and bone

Overall: 42.9 x 4.6 x 5.1 cm (16 7/8 x 1 13/16 x 2 in.)

Gift of Katherine C. White 1975.158

Location

108C Akan & Yoruba

Fun Fact

<em>Akua'ba</em> are always female, both because Akua’s first child was a girl, and because the Akan and Fante societies are matrilineal, meaning that it is women that extend the family line.

Description

An infertile woman would be advised by a priest to commission such a sculpture and care for it as if it were her baby. With the aim to induce fertility, or to ensure the birth of a healthy and beautiful daughter, the akua'ba figure is carried on the woman's back inside her wrapper. After a successful birth, the figure is placed in the priest's shrine as an offering, or it is given to the newborn as a toy.

Provenance
at least 1968–1976
Katherine C. White [1929-1980], Gates Mills, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1976–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Fagg, William. African Tribal Images; the Katherine White Reswick Collection. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968. Mentioned and reproduced: no. 106
Petridis, Constantijn. South of the Sahara: Selected Works of African Art. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 72-73, no. 21
Cole, Herbert M., and Doran H. Ross. The Arts of Ghana. Los Angeles: Museum of Cultural History, University of California, 1977. Reproduced: p. 106, fig. 212; mentioned: p. 107
Exhibition history

CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 106, repr.

CMA 1976: "Year in Review 1975," CMA Bulletin LXIII (Feb., 1976), p. 65, no. 22

Los Angeles, UCLA, Dickson Art Center, 1977-1978: "The Arts of Ghana," cat. no. 212, p. 107, repr. p. 106. also traveled to Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN and Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX.

The Arts of Ghana. Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (October 11-December 11, 1977); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN (February 11-March 26, 1978); The Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX (May 3-July 2, 1978).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1975.158