AKUA’BA DOLL
[1,2,6,8]: AKUA’BA DOLL
[3]: A woman carries an akua’ba like a child, facing inward and tied to her back with her wrapper
[4]: A woman carries a child on her back
[5]: A young girl plays with her akua’ba doll, tying it to her back with a wrapper like she would a child, this time facing outward
[7]: A younger girl holds her akua’ba doll close
[9-11]: The book “Isn’t S/He a Doll?” with information on akua’mma (plural)From: Asante culture, Western Ghana 🇬🇭Source [1,2,6,8]: @seedarchives
Source [3,4,9-11]: “Akua’s Child and Other Relatives: New Mythologies for Old Dolls” by Doran H. Ross, in “Isn’t S/He A Doll?” by Elisabeth L. Cameron, 1996 at @seedarchives
Source [5]: “Goree” by Michel Renaudeau, 1978 at @seedarchives
Source [7]: @wellcomecollection
Source notes [3]:
“An akua’ba tucked into the wrapper of an Asante/Ashanti woman by Herbert M. Cole, Ghana, 1972”
Source notes [4]:
“A Fante mother carrying her child in a wrapper on her back. by Doran H. Ross. Ghana, 1976”
Source notes [7]:
“Ashanti girl with a traditional Akuaba doll, Ghana. August 1938”
Source notes [9-11]:
“…Typically it features a disc-shaped head with the face confined to the bottom half or even third of the disc. The mouth is generally positioned at the very bottom, leaving no chin. Eyes shaped like coffee beans or half moons are framed by long, arching eyebrows that connect at the bridge of the nose.
Typically it features a disc-shaped head with the face confined to the bottom half or even third of the disc. The mouth is generally positioned at the very bottom, leaving no chin. Eyes shaped like coffee beans or half moons are framed by long, arching eyebrows that connect at the bridge of the nose. Two or three short horizontal or plus-shaped incisions mark the cheeks; these are not signs of ethnic identity but rather representations of medicinal scars employed to protect children from a variety of illnesses. A ringed neck supports the head. Short, cone-shaped arms project at right angles from the upper body, but the figure is usually legless, having instead a base slightly larger in diameter than its cylindrical torso…
Given its popularity, it is no surprise that the akua'ba is among the most widely faked genres of African art…It is not just the "fine art" traditions of Africa that have exploited the image of the akua'ba…
That it is so instantly recognizable as African has undoubtedly enhanced its popularity as a souvenir.”Observations:
element of play within use; sound and movement spark delight and encourage interaction, expert abstraction; visual interest created through accurately exaggerated proportions, visual and material contrast (bright yellow beads and cowrie shells as accessories), continuation of a design language / visual harmony (semi-circular cuts), considering user experience (flat back).
