Rooster Figure – Terracotta – Akan- Ghana – Schädler Certificate

Stunning Akan terracotta rooster from the Akan people of Ghana. It was used as a storage container. Great use of multiple colors. Good condition with a wonderful aged patina. The terracotta around the tail is a bit fragile. Roosters are placed on ancestral altars commemorating the queen mothers. They stand for fowl and other animals that are sacrificed during rituals honoring royal ancestors. These explicitly male creatures acknowledge that the queen mother is different from other women and shares many powers and privileges with men.

In much of Africa, clay is an artistic medium primarily associated with women. European visitors to this region in the mid-nineteenth century documented a related Akan tradition of lifesize funerary sculpture crafted by female artists.

Provenance: Manfred Schäfer collection, ex- gallery owner from Ulm, Germany. With certificate of Authenticity signed by professor Karl-Ferdinand Schädler.