Fertility Doll

19th or 20th century

Asante, African

Not On View

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About the Artwork

The akua’ba figure is, foremost, a symbolic “cure” for barrenness and, second, a play doll for a child among the Akan people of Ghana. The Akan consider female infertility a threat to society’s survival, as matrilineage plays a critical role in tracing descent and inheriting property and political office. Thus, following a priest’s advice, an infertile woman might commission a wood figure from a sculptor that would then be blessed. The patient would carry and care for the akua’ba, treating it like a real child in the hopes that the figure’s spiritual energy would help her overcome infertility. If the figure achieves its purpose, the sculpture may become a plaything for a child.

The Akan believe children exist in the spirit before they enter the material world, making the sculpture a surrogate for a spirit child. In this figure, the simplified oversized head, glossy black skin, fat neck rings, and facial features like arched eyebrows, bulging eyes, thin nose, and pursed lips embody the Akan concept of beauty, appropriate for a representation of a longed-for child yet to be born.

Title Fertility Doll

Artwork Date 19th or 20th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Asante

Medium Wood

Dimensions 14 1/8 x 5 3/8 x 3 inches (35.9 x 13.65 x 7.6 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 70.4

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Provenance

Robert H. Tannahill [1893-1969] (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, USA);
1970-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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