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LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Licence
License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Licence
License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Licence
License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Licence
License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Licence
License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
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Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Carved wooden doll or akua‘ba with characteristic flat oval head on pillar shaped body, carried by women, representation of beauty, Asante people, Ghana, 1890-1910
This doll is known as ‘akua‘ba’ (plural akua mma). These figures represent idealised feminine beauty as conceived by the Akan cultures of Ghana and parts of Ivory Coast in West Africa. The dolls are traditionally carried on women’s backs like a real child. This is said to aid conception and a healthy and successful birth. The name akua'ba is said to have come from the story of Akua, a young woman who was having difficulty conceiving a child. A priest advised her to carry a wooden doll on her back. She gave birth to a healthy child some time later.
Details
- Category:
- Ethnography and Folk Medicine
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A137555
- Materials:
- wood, decoration, glass, beads and decoration, cord
- Measurements:
-
overall: 295 mm x 110 mm x 53 mm, .22 kg
- type:
- doll
- credit:
- Foster
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