Every Saturday we had diner at the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, the house my grandparents lived in and had the gallery on the ground floor.
As a child we played in the gallery with enormous split drums from the Sepik and small bow and arrows, which we thought still had poison on to make it more exciting. My grandfather trusted us completely to play in between all these special objects.
The first object given to me by my grandfather is this Akua’ba from the Ashanti, Ghana.
When a woman could not get pregnant she went to a priest who will give her the akua’ba doll. The woman carries the doll on her back, like a real child, until she becomes pregnant. This is typical an object which beginning collectors like to buy. I can understand why it is just a wonderful type of sculpture.
Finette Lemaire
25 May 2020