Fertility Figure
Unidentified Asante maker
collected 1966
Overall: 11 7/16 × 5 1/8 × 1 3/16 in. (29 × 13 × 3 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Museum Purchase
167.6.24033
Geography
Place Made: Ghana, Western Africa, Africa
Period
20th century
Object Name
Figure
Research Area
Africa
On view
Label
The large circular head and stylized arms are recognizable forms of Ghanaian fertility figures. They are called Akua ba, meaning “Akua’s child,” which comes from an Akan legend of a woman named Akua who struggled to become pregnant before eventually giving birth to a girl. Prior to motherhood, Akua had commissioned and cared for a carved wooden doll as if she were a real baby even though she was ridiculed for it. Now, Akua ba are fertility charms carried by women, placed in shrines as offerings, kept as secular family heirlooms, and used in memorials to children.
From the 2023 exhibition Homecoming: Domesticity and Kinship in Global African Art, curated by Alexandra Thomas, Curatorial Research Associate
Course History
First Year Student Enrichment Program – Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Colleen Lannon, Summer 2023
First Year Student Enrichment Program - Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Mokhtar Bouba, Summer 2023
Philosophy 1.11, Art: True, Beautiful, Nasty, John Kulvicki, Summer 2023
Writing 2.05, Why Write, Anyway?, Erkki Mackey, Fall 2023
Writing 5.24, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Fall 2023
Writing 5.25, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Fall 2023
Exhibition History
Homecoming: Domesticity and Kinship in Global African Art, Harteveldt Family Gallery, Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, and Northeast Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 22, 2023–May 25, 2024.
Sculpture and Sculptor's Drawings, Harrington Gallery Teaching Exhibition, SArt 16,21, and 73, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 20-October 7, 1996.
Provenance
Purchased by Professor James W. Fernandez in Lome, Togo for the Dartmouth College Museum, 1967.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu