Things You'd Grab as the House Burnt Down
C19 Ashanti Figure - an Akuaba or Fertility Doll, Ghana, West AfricaThe list things I'd tuck under my arm when the house is burning down and I'm I dashing for the front door is not short at all at all, but near the top would be our C19 Ashanti Figure ...
... an Akuaba or Fertility Doll from Ghana in West Africa ...
... with its text-book lovely old patination ...
Akuaba dolls are carried round on the back by expectant mothers so their new-born will be beautiful, as is the doll. They also function as a tool for socialising young girls into parental child care, as dolls do in many societies.
What I particularly like bout these sculptures is the simplified geometric forms which remind me of the African sculpture that was so influential on Pablo Picasso and non-realistic art of the early C20
As you do, I was Akuaba doll browsing this morning and googled up a few other beautiful examples, such as ...
... and ...
... and finally ...
Just a brief caring and sharing moment - and a bit of serious self-indulgence on my part!
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