This small hand-carved wooden figure is a decorative piece in the Ashanti style, made in West Africa in the mid-20th century. It follows the Akua’ba form, the stylised female figure traditionally associated with fertility among the Akan peoples of Ghana. It has a large, flat, oval head on a slender neck and a simple cylindrical body.
The face is carved in low relief, with narrow, lidded eyes, a small straight nose and a pursed mouth, plus fine incised lines across the cheeks. Parallel incised strokes mark the hairline on the crown. The arms are short, horizontal stubs, and the torso has two softly modelled breasts with incised lines and a chevron pattern across the abdomen. The figure stands on a small, flared, cylindrical base.
The wood is dark brown to black, with a matt, softly worn surface. Lighter wood shows at the edges of the head, arms and foot, and there are small nicks and scuffs across the face and body that point to age and handling.
It is a quiet, graphic piece for a shelf, console or bookcase, and sits well beside ceramics, books or other sculptural objects.
