ClassificationsAfrican Art

Commemorative "Portrait" Head

Place CreatedGhana, Africa

CultureAkan, Aowin

Date18th-19th Century

MediumTerracotta

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions9 x 5 3/16 in. (22.9 x 13.2 cm)

Object number1994.004.566

Label TextThroughout Africa the body of a deceased person is buried often very soon after death. Months or even up to a year later, at a "second burial' ceremony, the deceased person is fully honored during a rite that facilitates their transformation into an ancestor with whom living family members maintain contact. At the "second burial" ceremonies of the Akan, deceased members of the elite class are portrayed in commemorative ceramic images such as this delicate little head , a physical substitute for the deceased, which was once attached to a vessel or a complete figure.

Although this head represents a particular person, it is not a true portrait as the features are stylized and generalized. Instead of re-creating the physical likeness of the individual, the artist focused on the gender and social status of the person through the use of identifying marks such as hairstyle, scarification patterns, and body adornments. At the conclusion of the "second burial" ceremony, the portrait was taken to the asensie (place of pots), a sacred space in the bush, where the family could continue to communicate with the ancestors.
Exhibition HistorySpirited Vessels: Creation and Ritual in African Ceramics, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 7 - April 11, 2004
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, November 19, 2007 - March 7, 2013

ProvenanceEx coll. William S. Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia.

Status

Not on view

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