20th c.
Wood, paint, kaolin, glass and metal beads
Without stand: 19 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 8 1/2"
Provenance: Allan Stone Collection, New York
Note: The surface suggests that this seated priestess holding a gourd is a late piece with moderate ceremonial use. Stylistically it is within expected Akan norms although the paint appears to be of European origin. Sculpturally it is well carved with an elegant presence. Additional commentary by Martha Ehrllch, PhD, online.
The surface suggests that this seated priestess holding a gourd is a late piece with moderate ceremonial use. Stylistically it is within expected Akan norms although the paint appears to be of European origin. Sculpturally it is well carved with an elegant presence. According to Martha Ehrlich, PhD (2018): It seems pretty clear that it represents a priestess holding up a gourd rattle and sitting on a woman’s stool. She has an impressive collection of beads, some of which look a bit like Krobo-made Ghanaian beads. There are even a few cast brass Akan style beads, including a nice big bicone. The amount of detail is impressive, and the carving is accomplished. She was painted a rich chocolate brown, but there are also abundant traces of kaolin, as there would be on a real priestess conducting a ceremony. She seems like a thank-offering on a shrine to me, and I do not think she is very old because there are no cracks at all, almost no warping, and the original surfaces seem intact. Some recently-carved Ivory Coast Akan figures have this brown paint, undoubtedly of European origin. Although the figure must be of recent origin, I think it is certainly within the Akan traditional stylistic norms, never intended as an export piece, but made for local use. There is a color plate of an Aowin priestess of a traditional god in the town of Enchi, Ghana, decorated with kaolin and beads and holding several carvings of human figures, one seated on a stool and with lots of kaolin. (The Arts of Ghana, Cole and Ross, Color Plate III, p. 21). The carvings are of a similar “realistic” style to that of the present figure in general, although the faces and hairstyles differ. And that’s as close as I can get.

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