Ashanti Standing Female Fertility Figure, Based

Chalky lump with two small eyeholes and a great deal of attitude.

This standing female fertility figure on a base is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa. It is terra cotta. Terra cotta is a fired, unglazed clay, and Akan potters in Ghana have long shaped it into vessels and sculpted figures. Rounded, pale grey-white form with a rough, pitted surface, two small dark holes for eyes and a wide mouth line below. Soft bulges suggest shoulders and a seated body. It rests on a black rectangular mount. It is 2.3 inches wide, 3 deep and 4.5 high.

Weathered face, firm expression, no interest in smoothing either.