500130 Head, late 1600s-early 1700s (terracotta) by Akan School, (18th century); h:19.10 w:13.60 d:15.50 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, USA; (add.info.: Before they died, Akan royal family members commissioned terracotta portraits, including heads like this one, from female artists. After royal burials, these idealized substitutes were placed in sacred groves outside the village where they were the focus of periodic libations, offerings, and prayers. The knobs on the head imitate a once popular male hairstyle having a tufted pattern. ); Edwin R. and Harriet Pelton Perkins Memorial Fund; Ghanaian, out of copyright.