Classification:
Ceremonial and Performance Artifacts; Ritual Objects
Culture/Nationality:
Asante, Akan, Ghanaian, West African, African
Collection:
Plass Collection
According to Asante legend, the first Akua'ba doll was created for a barren woman, Akua, who wished to have a child. A priest instructed her to commission the carving of a small wooden child, to carry the surrogate child on her back, and to treat it as if it were real. Thus, Akua'ba (which means little Akua) dolls came to be used by women to aid in fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth.
Akua'ba dolls embody the aesthetic features and feminine ideals important to the Asante. The large disk-shaped head, small facial features, and smooth patina are symbols of intelligence and beauty, while the ringed-neck is associated with fertility and eroticism.
Keywords
Click a term to view the records with the same keyword
akua'mma
- Fertility figures, usually female, of abstracted form, with disk-like heads with high oval foreheads and most often having horizontal arms, cylindrical torso, breasts, and navel; among Asante of West Africa believed to ensure conception and successful birth.
fertility dolls
- Fertility figures, usually female, of abstracted form, with disk-like heads with high oval foreheads and most often having horizontal arms, cylindrical torso, breasts, and navel; among Asante of West Africa believed to ensure conception and successful birth.
figurines
- Three-dimensional works that represent humans, animals, or mythical beasts at less than half life-size. While the term may be used interchangeably with "statuette" in certain situations, it differs in that a statuette is always free-standing while a figurine may be part of a larger work, such as a decorative detail on a candelabra or mirror.
patina
- An aged appearance caused by environmental factors, acquired naturally or artificially induced; used especially with regard to a surface layer on metal caused by oxidation or corrosion.
sculpture
- Three-dimensional works of art in which images and forms are produced in relief, in intaglio, or in the round. The term refers particularly to art works created by carving or engraving a hard material, by molding or casting a malleable material (which usually then hardens), or by assembling parts to create a three-dimensional object. It is typically used to refer to large or medium-sized objects made of stone, wood, bronze, or another metal. Small objects are typically referred to as "carvings" or another appropriate term. "Sculpture" refers to works that represent tangible beings, objects, or groups of objects, or are abstract works that have defined edges and boundaries and can be measured. As three-dimensional works become more diffused in space or time, or less tangible, use appropriate specific terms, such as "mail art" or "environmental art."
statues
- Sculpture in the round, usually but not always depicting humans, animals, mythical beings, or small figure groups. Statues are relatively large in scale, being life-size, larger than life-size, or only slightly smaller than life-size. For small-scale representations of humans, animals, or mythical beings, use "figurines," "statuettes," or another appropriate term. For depictions of humans, animals, or mythical beings in media other than sculpture, use "figures (representations)."
West African
- Styles and cultures from the region comprising the westernmost area of the African continent, defined by the United Nations as including the modern nations of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
wood
- The principal tissue of trees and other plants that provides both strength and a means of conducting nutrients. Wood is one of the most versatile materials known.
Additional Images
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
African Art from the Collection of Margaret Feurer Plass '17
Bryn Mawr College
, 5/19/1990 - 10/1/1992
A Celebration of Black History: African Art from the Neufeld and Plass Collections
Bryn Mawr College
, 2/24/1992 - 3/13/1992
African Art in the Greater Philadelphia Area
The Community College of Philadelphia with a Grant from the William Penn Foundation
, 11/12/1999 - 12/17/1999
Journeys Through African Womanhood
Bryn Mawr College
, 2/14/2003 - 3/28/2003
Worlds to Discover: 125 Years of Collections at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
, 9/24/2010 - 5/28/2011
A Curious Group; a cabinet of curiosities
Bryn Mawr College
, 4/4/2014 - 6/30/2014
Bibliography List
The following Bibliography exist for this object:
Marianne Hansen
and Emily Croll.
Worlds to Discover.
Bryn Mawr College.
Bryn Mawr, PA, 2010
Page Number: 29
Carrie Robbins
and Nathanael Roesch.
A Curious Group.
Bryn Mawr College.
Bryn Mawr, PA, April 4–June 1, 2014
Figure Number: Wood 19
Comparanda List
The following Comparanda exist for this object:
Esther A. Dagan,
African Dolls for Play and Magic
(Montreal, Canada: Galérie Amrad African Arts, 1990),
71-75.
Frank Willett,
African Art
(London, England: Thames & Hudson, 2002),
108.
Figure Number: 103
"Society of African Missionaries African Art Museum Website."
(Accessed April 21, 2020):
Jean- Baptiste Bacquart,
The Tribal Arts of Africa
(New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 1998),
32.
Figure Number: 4
"African Heritage Document and Research Center."
(Accessed June 11, 2020):
AHDRC.eu.
Record No.: 0051071.
Related Bibliography List
The following Related Bibliography exist for this object:
Esther A. Dagan,
African Dolls for Play and Magic
(Montreal, Canada: Galérie Amrad African Arts, 1990),
70-77.
Frank Willett,
African Art
(London, England: Thames & Hudson, 2002),
108.
Elisabeth L. Cameron,
"In Search of Children: Dolls and Agency in Africa."
African Arts
30, no. 2
(Spring 1997):
18-93.
"Society of African Missionaries African Art Museum Website."
(Accessed April 21, 2020):
Rosyln Adele Walker,
The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art
(New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009),
118-119.
Jean- Baptiste Bacquart,
The Tribal Arts of Africa
(New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 1998),
32.
"ÌMỌ̀ DÁRA."
(Accessed May 10, 2020):
Imodara.com.
https://www.imodara.com/magazine/african-child-figures-are-not-dolls/.
Portfolio List
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This object is a member of the following portfolios:
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<ref name=BMC>cite web |url=http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/146054 |title=Akua'ba (Fertility Doll) |author=Bryn Mawr College Library Special Collections |accessdate=4/14/2021 |publisher=Bryn Mawr College</ref>
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