A wood sculpture - Prampram - Ghana
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Holds a postgraduate degree in African studies and 15 years experience in African art.
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A pair of Prampram wood sculptures from Ghana, in the Ga-Adangbe tradition, 118 cm tall and about 8.4 kg in weight, without a stand, in fair condition.
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Description from the seller
A pair of PramPram sculptures, South central Ghana. Signs of age.
Prampram couple sculptures are a rare and highly localized sculptural form associated with the Ga-Adangbe people of southeastern Ghana, particularly the coastal town of Prampram. These figures, most commonly carved as male-female pairs, are thought to function within the complex funerary and ancestral traditions of the Ga-Adangbe, though the precise ritual contexts in which they were used remain partially obscure due to limited field documentation and a scarcity of surviving examples.
The sculptures are typically rendered in wood and exhibit a distinctive stylistic profile: the figures stand upright, often in symmetrical poses, with frontal orientation and arms carved close to the body. Faces are marked by prominent features, including large, almond-shaped eyes, flattened noses, and broad mouths, often rendered with a deliberate sense of abstraction. The heads may appear oversized in relation to the body, a proportional strategy common in West African sculpture to emphasize wisdom, power, or identity. Scarification marks and coiffure details may also be present, reflecting local aesthetic preferences and social markers.
These paired figures are understood to represent idealized ancestors or spiritual doubles, and their pairing is believed to symbolize harmony, fertility, and continuity between generations. The presence of both male and female figures underscores the importance of gender complementarity in Ga cosmology and kinship structure. In some interpretations, the figures may act as commemorative portraits of the deceased, though stylization suggests a symbolic rather than naturalistic intent. Their inclusion in funerary contexts possibly served to ensure the safe passage of the deceased into the ancestral realm or to maintain equilibrium between the living and the dead.
Although these sculptures are sometimes linked with the more widely known Ga funeral traditions, including elaborate coffins and commemorative objects, the Prampram figures are exceptional for their sculptural refinement and metaphysical function. Some examples bear traces of pigment or surface treatments, indicating their placement in domestic or shrine settings where they may have received offerings or libations.
Because so few Prampram sculptures have entered public collections, their classification has often relied on oral histories and stylistic comparison with related traditions among neighboring coastal groups, including the Ewe and Dangme. Attribution is further complicated by the historic movement of artists and ideas across southern Ghana, particularly during the colonial and early postcolonial periods.
The academic treatment of these sculptures remains limited, though their presence in select museum collections and occasional references in Ghanaian ethnographies affirm their cultural and historical value. As physical testaments to Ga-Adangbe ancestral belief systems, Prampram couple sculptures offer a unique lens into localized expressions of gender, memory, and ritual.
References:
Cole, Herbert M. and Doran H. Ross. The Arts of Ghana. Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles, 1977.
Arhin, Kwame. “The Political and Cultural History of the Ga People.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, vol. 15, 1974, pp. 1–24.
Nooter, Mary H. and Allen F. Roberts. Memory: Luba Art and the Making of History. Museum for African Art, 1996.
CAB28320
Height: 118 cm / 118 cm
Weight: 4,3 kg / 4,1 kg
Seller's Story
For over twenty-five years, Wolfgang Jaenicke has been active as a collector and, for the past two decades, as a specialist dealer in African art, with a particular focus on material often subsumed under the term “Tribal Art”. His early engagement with cultural history was shaped by his father’s extensive archive on the former “German Colonies”, a collection of documents, publications and artefacts that introduced him to the evidentiary and historical significance of objects at a young age.
Jaenicke pursued studies in ethnology, art history and comparative law at the Freie Universität Berlin. Motivated by an interest in cultural dynamics beyond the limitations of academic formalism, he left the university to undertake extended research and travel in West and Central Africa. His fieldwork and professional activities took him through Cameroon, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana, establishing long-term relationships with artists, collectors, researchers and local institutions.
From 2002 to 2012 he lived primarily in Mali, based in Bamako and Ségou. During this period he directed Tribalartforum, a gallery housed in a historic colonial building overlooking the Ségou harbour. The gallery became a notable site for contemporary and historical cultural production, hosting exhibitions of Bamana sculpture and ceramics, as well as photographic works including those of Malick Sidibé, whose images of the 1970s youth culture in Mali remain internationally influential. The outbreak of the war in Mali in 2012 necessitated the closure of the gallery.
Following his departure from Mali, Jaenicke established his base of operations in Lomé, Togo, where he and his partners maintain a permanent branch. The Jaenicke-Njoya GmbH, founded sixteen years earlier, serves as the organisational and legal framework for these activities. In 2018, the Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke opened its Berlin location opposite Charlottenburg Palace, operating today with a team of approximately twelve specialists.
A significant focus of the gallery’s curatorial and research work lies in West African bronzes and terracotta. As part of ongoing efforts toward transparency and precise cultural documentation, Jaenicke collaborated with the Technische Universität Berlin’s “Translocation Project”, contributing insight into the circulation of archaeological and ethnographic objects within the international art trade in Lomé. The gallery maintains continuous dialogue with national museums across West Africa and regularly publishes updates on its activities in Lomé and Berlin via its website: wolfgang-jaenicke
Jaenicke’s practice combines long-term field engagement with a commitment to provenance research, museum-level documentation, and the ethical stewardship of cultural heritage. His work continues to bridge local knowledge networks and international scholarly discourse.
A pair of PramPram sculptures, South central Ghana. Signs of age.
Prampram couple sculptures are a rare and highly localized sculptural form associated with the Ga-Adangbe people of southeastern Ghana, particularly the coastal town of Prampram. These figures, most commonly carved as male-female pairs, are thought to function within the complex funerary and ancestral traditions of the Ga-Adangbe, though the precise ritual contexts in which they were used remain partially obscure due to limited field documentation and a scarcity of surviving examples.
The sculptures are typically rendered in wood and exhibit a distinctive stylistic profile: the figures stand upright, often in symmetrical poses, with frontal orientation and arms carved close to the body. Faces are marked by prominent features, including large, almond-shaped eyes, flattened noses, and broad mouths, often rendered with a deliberate sense of abstraction. The heads may appear oversized in relation to the body, a proportional strategy common in West African sculpture to emphasize wisdom, power, or identity. Scarification marks and coiffure details may also be present, reflecting local aesthetic preferences and social markers.
These paired figures are understood to represent idealized ancestors or spiritual doubles, and their pairing is believed to symbolize harmony, fertility, and continuity between generations. The presence of both male and female figures underscores the importance of gender complementarity in Ga cosmology and kinship structure. In some interpretations, the figures may act as commemorative portraits of the deceased, though stylization suggests a symbolic rather than naturalistic intent. Their inclusion in funerary contexts possibly served to ensure the safe passage of the deceased into the ancestral realm or to maintain equilibrium between the living and the dead.
Although these sculptures are sometimes linked with the more widely known Ga funeral traditions, including elaborate coffins and commemorative objects, the Prampram figures are exceptional for their sculptural refinement and metaphysical function. Some examples bear traces of pigment or surface treatments, indicating their placement in domestic or shrine settings where they may have received offerings or libations.
Because so few Prampram sculptures have entered public collections, their classification has often relied on oral histories and stylistic comparison with related traditions among neighboring coastal groups, including the Ewe and Dangme. Attribution is further complicated by the historic movement of artists and ideas across southern Ghana, particularly during the colonial and early postcolonial periods.
The academic treatment of these sculptures remains limited, though their presence in select museum collections and occasional references in Ghanaian ethnographies affirm their cultural and historical value. As physical testaments to Ga-Adangbe ancestral belief systems, Prampram couple sculptures offer a unique lens into localized expressions of gender, memory, and ritual.
References:
Cole, Herbert M. and Doran H. Ross. The Arts of Ghana. Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles, 1977.
Arhin, Kwame. “The Political and Cultural History of the Ga People.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, vol. 15, 1974, pp. 1–24.
Nooter, Mary H. and Allen F. Roberts. Memory: Luba Art and the Making of History. Museum for African Art, 1996.
CAB28320
Height: 118 cm / 118 cm
Weight: 4,3 kg / 4,1 kg
Seller's Story
For over twenty-five years, Wolfgang Jaenicke has been active as a collector and, for the past two decades, as a specialist dealer in African art, with a particular focus on material often subsumed under the term “Tribal Art”. His early engagement with cultural history was shaped by his father’s extensive archive on the former “German Colonies”, a collection of documents, publications and artefacts that introduced him to the evidentiary and historical significance of objects at a young age.
Jaenicke pursued studies in ethnology, art history and comparative law at the Freie Universität Berlin. Motivated by an interest in cultural dynamics beyond the limitations of academic formalism, he left the university to undertake extended research and travel in West and Central Africa. His fieldwork and professional activities took him through Cameroon, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana, establishing long-term relationships with artists, collectors, researchers and local institutions.
From 2002 to 2012 he lived primarily in Mali, based in Bamako and Ségou. During this period he directed Tribalartforum, a gallery housed in a historic colonial building overlooking the Ségou harbour. The gallery became a notable site for contemporary and historical cultural production, hosting exhibitions of Bamana sculpture and ceramics, as well as photographic works including those of Malick Sidibé, whose images of the 1970s youth culture in Mali remain internationally influential. The outbreak of the war in Mali in 2012 necessitated the closure of the gallery.
Following his departure from Mali, Jaenicke established his base of operations in Lomé, Togo, where he and his partners maintain a permanent branch. The Jaenicke-Njoya GmbH, founded sixteen years earlier, serves as the organisational and legal framework for these activities. In 2018, the Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke opened its Berlin location opposite Charlottenburg Palace, operating today with a team of approximately twelve specialists.
A significant focus of the gallery’s curatorial and research work lies in West African bronzes and terracotta. As part of ongoing efforts toward transparency and precise cultural documentation, Jaenicke collaborated with the Technische Universität Berlin’s “Translocation Project”, contributing insight into the circulation of archaeological and ethnographic objects within the international art trade in Lomé. The gallery maintains continuous dialogue with national museums across West Africa and regularly publishes updates on its activities in Lomé and Berlin via its website: wolfgang-jaenicke
Jaenicke’s practice combines long-term field engagement with a commitment to provenance research, museum-level documentation, and the ethical stewardship of cultural heritage. His work continues to bridge local knowledge networks and international scholarly discourse.
Details
Ethnic group/ culture
Prampram
Country of Origin
Ghana
Material
Wood
Sold with stand
No
Condition
Fair condition
Title of artwork
A wood sculpture
Height
118 cm
Weight
8.4 kg
Sold by
GermanyVerified
protop
Rechtliche Informationen des Verkäufers
- Unternehmen:
- Jaenicke Njoya GmbH
- Repräsentant:
- Wolfgang Jaenicke
- Adresse:
- Jaenicke Njoya GmbH
Klausenerplatz 7
14059 Berlin
GERMANY - Telefonnummer:
- +493033951033
- Email:
- w.jaenicke@jaenicke-njoya.com
- USt-IdNr.:
- DE241193499
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