Fertility doll "akua ba" ·  Ghana, Ashanti · ID: 3034113

Description

wood, brown patina, black paint remains, of typical form, coloured strings of glass beads, min. dam., small missing parts, slight traces of abrasion, socle;
these dolls are supposed to encourage fertility. Women used to carry them on their back before and during pregnancy and used to treat them as real children. They gained their magical power from a deity via the diviner’s blessing. After childbirth, they were either dedicated to the deity, placed on a shrine, or they were given to a child for playing.

The object Fertility doll “akua ba” with the object ID 3034113 was last part of the auction 72nd tribal art auction at March 9, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 94 achieved a sales price of EUR 500.

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