A wooden sculpture - Prampram - Ghana (No reserve price)

Prampram Anthropomorphic Figure Sculpture Origin: Southern Region, Ghana Material: Dark brown to gray-brown wood, with small abrasions and several longitudinal cracks. Visual description This large anthropomorphic wooden figure features an extremely simplified and strongly vertical design. The body, likely carved from a single block of wood, takes the form of a long cylindrical shape that widens slightly at the shoulders and then gradually tapers toward the lower part. Two narrow, elongated arms extend parallel to each side of the torso, with no detailed representation of the hands. The lower body divides into two long, tapered legs forming a triangular opening. The sculpture is currently supported by a modern metal bracket attached to a black rectangular base, a feature that should not be confused with its original presentation. The neck, exceptionally long and cylindrical, supports an ovoid, almost spherical head, which is disproportionate to the narrowness of the body. The facial features are reduced to a few simple marks: two circular indentations indicate the eyes; a long, very slightly protruding vertical ridge forms the nose and connects to a small horizontal opening representing the mouth. Lateral indentations appear where the ears would be. The chest features two relatively symmetrical perforations, which may conventionally correspond to the nipples; another perforation appears lower on the body and could indicate the navel. Published comparisons with other so-called Prampram figures clearly show this same pattern of indentations for the eyes, ears, nipples, and navel. The surface is dark brown to grayish-brown, with reddish tones in places. It shows irregular wear, small abrasions, surface deposits, and several longitudinal cracks, particularly on the head and torso. These marks indicate a long material history, but they do not, on their own, prove ritual use. Some perforations may also have once held attached materials or result from successive interventions; a direct analysis of the wood and the cavities would be necessary to determine this. Historical and Artistic Analysis The term "Prampram" should be used with caution. Prampram is first and foremost a locality and a Dangme community on the southeastern coast of Ghana, east of Accra. The body of work currently referred to as "Prampram sculptures" remains understudied in academic literature and does not yet constitute a stylistic school defined with the precision afforded, for example, to certain Akan, Ewe, or Moba traditions. A recent overview of this body of work emphasizes precisely its still provisional nature and the discrepancies in the geographical attribution of several pieces. Formally, however, this figure corresponds remarkably well to the works grouped under this designation: an extremely elongated, columnar body; slender limbs; a long, cylindrical neck; an ovoid head; a radical simplification of facial features; and the use of perforations as anatomical markers. These principles distance the sculpture from naturalism in favor of an almost architectural frontal presence. In traditional Ghanaian art more broadly, the human figure frequently plays a central role in the materialization of social, spiritual, or commemorative concepts; this anthropomorphic primacy is also noted by Dogbe and by subsequent research on Ghanaian sculpture. However, one should avoid automatically identifying this large sculpture with the aklama. The aklama, which are well documented among the Ewe and the Dangme, are generally small figures or forms representing beings, animals, or objects and functioning as auxiliary spirits; the 2016 reference monograph notably highlights their small scale and extraordinary diversity. The monumental scale and highly elongated form of this figure therefore suggest a different category, even though it belongs to the same broad Dangme religious context. Ritual Function The Dangme religious context nonetheless includes shrines, altars, deities, and forms of commemoration associated with kinship groups. Nii Otokunor Quarcoopome has shown that public Dangme altars can serve as spiritual anchors for lineage groups, be linked to clan founders, and become major centers of ritual activity. Regarding the figures now known as Prampram, field notes report that some examples were reportedly kept in homes or sanctuary spaces. However, this information derives primarily from oral traditions and collection archives, rather than from published and verified ethnographic documentation. Another oral tradition recorded for certain Ningo-Prampram figures interprets them as representations of characters or heroes associated with local history. While this information is interesting, it should not be automatically applied to this particular specimen. The most reasonable hypothesis, therefore, is to consider the object as a figure of presence, potentially linked to a sanctuary, to the memory of a figure, an ancestor, a founder, or a spiritual power. Its frontal, immobile pose, its large scale, and the simplification of the body reinforce the idea of a lasting presence rather than that of an individual portrait. The perforations may have played a role in the figure's material activation, but no specific function—such as the insertion of elements, offerings, or the attachment of accessories—should be proposed without technical analysis. Selected Bibliography Cole, Herbert M. & Doran H. Ross, *The Arts of Ghana*, Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles, 1977. A major general work on the arts and religious contexts of Ghana. Kilson, Marion, *Kpele Lala: Ga Religious Songs and Symbols*, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1971. A seminal study of Ga religion and symbolism in southern Ghana. Quarcoopome, Nii Otokunor, "Thresholds and Thrones: Morphology and Symbolism of Dangme Public Altars," Journal of Religion in Africa, vol. 24, no. 4, 1994, pp. 339–357. Pezolli, Gigi; Plath, Philipp; Quarcoopome, Nii Otokunor et al., *Aklama: Helper Spirits of the Ewe and Dangme from the Study Collection of Horst Antes*, Studienstiftung Horst Antes, Karlsruhe, 2016, 503 pp. Dogbe, B. K., "The Human Form as a Central Theme in Art," *Image*, Journal of the College of Art, Kumasi, 1977, esp. p. 89; reference cited in contemporary studies of traditional Ghanaian sculpture. The publications mentioned serve for comparative art historical classification. They do not establish the specific cultural attribution, dating, or original use of the sculpture in question. Copyright and Scientific Documentation Some of the information and photographs have been generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and are based on published sources in ethnography, archaeology, and art history. Original texts and photographs may be protected by copyright. All rights held by the respective copyright holders are reserved. Inv. No. MAZ33354

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