National Museum of African Art
Akan Funerary Commemorative Head
December 14, 1984 – April 14, 1985
The head, a figurative pottery piece made by the Akan peoples of southern Ghana, was possibly used at the formal funeral of a member of royalty. It would have been regarded as a portrait by the Akan because it substituted for the actual body of the deceased during the ceremonies, held days or even months after actual death and burial.
