A female Akan terracotta head

A female Akan terracotta head, memorial head, completely covered with white kaolin, which shows that this sculpture was used indoors as a memorial figure on a shrine and not in a funeral context, a slightly open mouth, a straight nose framed by coffee bean eyes, wide arched and blackened eyebrows, small ears, a four-parted domed coiffure with round curls; a round hole at the back of the head and a larger chipping on the left cheek.

“Like other examples of African portraiture, these commemorative sculptures are idealized representations that convey individuality through specifics of scarification and hairstyle. The artist would typically be summoned to the deathbed of the deceased in order to observe his or her distinguishing characteristics, which she would depict later, working from memory to capture the individual’s essence. The figural terra-cotta sculptures vary enormously in style, ranging from fairly naturalistic and sculpturally rounded forms to examples that are solid, flat, and more dramatically stylized.” Source: MET, NY.

Lit.: Cole/Ross, 1977; Drost, 1967; Ghana Museum, s.d.; de Grunne, 1980; Holas, 1951; McLeod, 1981; George Nelson Perston, 1981; Rattry, 1927; Schaedler, 1985; Sieber 1972; Stößel, 1981. 

400 – 500,- Euro

Height: 27.5 cm
Weight: 2.1 kg