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The Collector(s) / Donor(s) Simon Ottenberg is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Washington. Having studied anthropology at Northwestern University with the famous Africanist Melville Herskovits, he began working in Africa in the early 1950s.His early research focused on various aspects of the Igbo culture of southeastern Nigeria, especially the peoples living in and around the town of Afikpo. In the late 1970s he shifted his research focus to northern Sierra Leone and the Limba people. In addition to his work in anthropology he has been a major contributor to the study of African art. He recently curated an exhibition and wrote a book dealing with a number of artists affiliated with the School of Fine Arts at the Nsukka campus of the University of Nigeria in southeast Nigeria. Since the early 1970s he has been an avid collector of African art. Professor Ottenberg donated a considerable portion of his collection to Michigan State University in 1992. Collector(s) / Donor(s) Statement The Object(s) Among the Akan peoples of Ghana small wood sculptures representing children are called akua'ba, literally Akua's child--Akua is the day name for a woman born on Wednesday. If a woman is having difficulty conceiving a child she may consult a local shrine priest who, in consultation with the deity he serves, may prescribe that a akua'ba be carved and that the woman carry it and care for it as she would a living child. Such actions, in association with the spiritual intervention of the deity, often bring positive results. If the woman conceives and gives birth, her child is often given the name of the deity and the akua'ba is placed in the shrine dedicated to the deity. The akua'ba produced and used by Fante (one of a number of Akan peoples) is distinctive for its rectangle-shaped head. Among the Asante, another Akan people, the akua'ba is carved with a circular head. Though an abstract rendering of a human being, its form does reveal some Akan ideals of physical beauty, for instance, a high forehead and long neck. This akua'ba represents a female child. Though the figure depicts a child, she is shown with fully developed breasts. This is a convention used in many African figurative traditions in which all images of human beings, whether representing children or adults, are presented as adults in the prime of life. It offers an effective means of differentiating gender. Further Information Books and Articles Doran H. Ross. "Akua's Child and Other Relatives: New Mythologies for Old Dolls." Isn't S/he a Doll? Play and Ritual in African Sculpture, ed. Elizabeth L. Cameron, pp. 42-57. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1996. Herbert Cole and Doran H. Ross. The Arts of Ghana. Los Angeles: Museum of Cultural History, University of California, 1977. Malcolm D. McLeod. The Asante. London: British Museum Publications, Ltd., 1981. Internet Resourcesnone
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