Online catalogue for the 60th tribal art auction
141 Standing male figure
Ghana, Akan
wood, reddish brown patina, black paint (coiffure), a well-balanced body with regular facial features, hands and feet artificial carved, supporting a fly whisk (?) and an egg, wearing a palm-fibre skirt, slightly dam., crack (breast), paint rubbed off; at Akan court certain functionaries known as "abrafo" serving as the king's constabulary were responsible for the king's person, policing the court and for certain ritual and ceremonial duties. Activities of "abrafo" were sufficiently known to serve as subject for proverbs, goldweights and for sculptures kept in Akan royal shrines.
H: 31 cm
H: 12.2 inch
Literature
McLeod, M. D., The Asante, The Trustees of the British Museum, London 1981, p. 59
Aspects, Akan cultures in Ghana, Den Haag 2001, p. 77
Price: 900 - 1500 €
142 Fertility doll "akua ba"
This object is not available any more.
Ghana, Ashanti
wood, brown, partly encrusted patina, typical form with abstract body and disc-shaped flattened head, reduced facial features and scarification marks on the cheeks, min. dam., cracks, signs of abrasion, on acrylic base; these dolls are supposed to encourage fertility. Women used to carry them on their back before and during pregnancy and used to treat them as real children. They gained their magical power from a deity via the diviner's blessing. After childbirth, they were either dedicated to the deity, placed on a shrine, or they were given to a child for playing.
H: 37 cm
H: 14.6 inch
Literature
Dagan, Esther A., African Dolls for play and magic, Montreal 1990, p. 71
Price: 1000 - 2000 €
143 Fertility doll "akua ba"
This object is not available any more.
Ghana, Ashanti
wood, blackish brown patina, typical form, incised ornaments on the rear, a string of glass beads around the hips, min. dam., small missing parts, slight signs of abrasion, on wooden base
H: 34,5 cm
H: 13.6 inch
Price: 650 - 1200 €
144 Pair of ancestor figures
Ghana, Ashanti
wood, brown patina, black paint, a standing male and female figure depicted in seated posture, both arranged frontal, long necks, carved with rings, supporting proportionally big heads, the females coiffure arranged in fanciful horn-like lobes, while the male ones is simple and flat with side parting, painted scarification marks, slightly dam., cracks, minor missing parts because of insect caused damage, paint rubbed off, mounted on plates; the Ashanti are the most popular group among the Akan. Present pair of ancestor figures probably was installed on a magical shrine, as the pierced bases of both figures imply.
H: 63 cm (male), 58 cm (female)
H: 24.8 inch (male), 22.8 inch (female)
Literature
Kunstverein Aalen e.V. (Hg.): Kunst der Akan, Ausst.kat., Aalen 1995, ill. 156
Price: 1900 - 3500 €
145 Sitting female figure "eli mansa"
This object is not available any more.
Ghana, Ashanti
wood, middle brown patina, clan stool "dwa" in typical form, the figure carved with a patterned ("kente") cloth, neckrings, necklace and elaborate coiffure, all details marking her as a person of higher rank, slightly dam., cracks, minor missing parts (abdomen, back of the head, nape), on wooden plate; "eli mansa" figures are displayed on ritual shrines, they should encourage the fertility of man, should guarantee successful births and thus secure the continuity of the clan. Furtheron they should provide sufficient food.
H: 42 cm
H: 16.5 inch
Literature
Cole, Herbert M., Ross, Doran H.,The Arts of Ghana, Los Angeles 1977, S. 113, fig. 231
Price: 1000 - 2500 €
146 Top of a spokesman staff "okyeame poma"
Ghana, Ashanti
light brown wood, bowl-shaped base with four thorn-like projections, terminating in a human head on ringed neck, laced with small holes, presumably once coated with gold foil, slightly dam., crack (back of the bowl-shaped base); such staffs, visualizations of proverbs, became important regalia of the "okyeame".
H: 34 cm
H: 13.4 inch
Provenance
Lempertz, Brussels, 26. April 2008, lot 109
Literature
McLeod, M. D., The Asante, The Trustees of the British Museum, London 1981, p. 96
Price: 750 - 1500 €
147 Stool
This object is not available any more.
Ghana, Ashanti
wood, spotty, brown patina, four struts and a pierced column in the centre supporting a curved seat, min. dam., rep. (seat), slight signs of abrasion; the symbolic message carved into the pedestal of the stool represents the owner's prestige and authority in the community. There are stools for every status: common ones for the ordinary man or woman, the more elaborate for the king (decorated in gold) or Queen's mother (decorated in silver).
H: 36,5 cm; L: 49 cm
H: 14.4 inch; L: 19.3 inch
Literature
Bocola, Sandro (Hg.), Afrikanische Sitze, München, New York 1994, p. 79
Price: 1000 - 2000 €
148 Stool
This object is not available any more.
Ghana, Ashanti
wood, brown patina, dam., cracks, missing parts (rim of the seat), rep. (cracks at the left leg fixed with metal clamps), paint rubbed off (seat); such stools are prominent in the ritual and ceremonial life at royal courts and in the lives of ordinary people. During rituals and ceremonies stools are carried in processions proclaiming the succession of kings and their deeds, as well as events in the history of state. Children are given stools by their father to mark various passages in life from childhood to adult status. When first wed husbands present a stool to his new wife. Stools are eminently personal to their owner containing a segment of their spiritual being and no one would ever sit on anothers stool.
H: 28,5 cm; B: 55 cm
H: 11.2 inch; B: 21.7 inch
Provenance
Galerie Inge Hett, Berlin, Germany
Literature
Aspects, Akan cultures in Ghana, Den Haag 2001, p. 68
Sold.
149 Stool
This object is not available any more.
Ghana, Ashanti
wood, spotty, brown patina, opened worked, rectangular base, carved with two reptiles arranged opposite to each other, supporting a curved seat on top, dam., rep. (seat), cracks, signs of usage
H: 23,5 cm; L: 36,5 cm
H: 9.3 inch; L: 14.4 inch
Price: 800 - 1500 €
150 Stool
This object is not available any more.
Ghana, Ashanti
wood, spotty, brown patina, rectangular base with parallel incisions, open worked oval support with a small box in the centre, a curved seat on top, min. dam., small missing parts, signs of usage
H: 33,5 cm; L: 47,5 cm
H: 13.2 inch; L: 18.7 inch
Literature
Dagan, Esther A., Tabourets - Asante - Stools, Ausst.kat., Montreal 1988, p. 39, ill. 17
Sold.
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