An Aklama couple from the southeastern region of Ghana. This pair of auxiliary fetishes (or statues of protective spirits) carved from wood belongs to the Aklama ritual style, practiced by the Ewe people (the Ada or Adangbe subgroup) living in the border region between Ghana and Togo. These small altar statuettes are distinguished by a refined, minimalist, and almost abstract artistic style. The pair consists of two standing figurines with a solemn and rigid posture. They share an anatomical structure simplified to the extreme, emphasizing angular and straight lines. The lower limbs form a single cylindrical or conical block of wood, simply divided in the middle by a vertical notch to suggest the two legs. The feet lack detail and are anchored directly into a modern black wooden base. The arms are carved in flat relief along the torso. They extend in perfectly straight lines to blend into the lower body, with no distinct outline for the hands. The torsos are represented by flat rectangular forms. There is a slight difference in proportion between the two pieces, reflecting the couple’s male and female identities. The figurine on the left has a head shaped like a cone or an elongated pyramid. The face is reduced to faint horizontal incisions to indicate the eyes and mouth. The figurine on the right has a head shaped like a very geometric, flattened diamond (characteristic of certain fetishes from the Ada region). The face is also minimalist, marked by a discreet central ridge for the nose and two horizontal slits for the eyes. The pieces bear the marks of time, with wood that is cracked and rough in places. The surface is covered with a residue of kaolin or highly textured whitish pigments. This matte, crusty patina is the result of ointments or ritual offerings poured over the fetishes to activate their protective powers. Aklama figures occupy a quiet yet powerful place in the dialogue between art and literature. Though they originate as sculpted forms, often associated with ritual, ancestry, or protection, their meaning extends far beyond material presence. In literary imagination, such figures become vessels of memory, embodiments of cultural identity, and silent witnesses to human history. They stand at the meeting point between what is seen and what is told. Literature has long transformed sacred or symbolic objects into narrative forces. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, ritual objects and carved forms are not mere decorations; they represent cosmology, authority, and continuity. Similarly, James Frazer’s The Golden Bough examines how ritual artifacts carry mythic structures within them. In this way, Aklama figures can be understood not only as artistic creations but as narrative anchors, holding within their stillness the stories of generations. The presence of a carved figure in a story often introduces tension between permanence and change. Human characters struggle, age, doubt, and disappear, while the figure remains. This contrast gives writers a powerful metaphor. In American Gods by Neil Gaiman, deities persist only as long as they are remembered, suggesting that belief and storytelling sustain existence. Aklama figures function in a comparable way within literary symbolism. They endure because they are narrated, preserved in language as much as in wood or clay. From a psychological perspective, such figures resonate with archetypal patterns described by Carl Jung. The human-like form, especially when associated with fertility or guardianship, reflects deep structures of the collective imagination. T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land draws upon fragmented cultural symbols to express spiritual desolation, while Madeline Miller’s Circe reinterprets mythic femininity for a modern audience. In both cases, ancient symbolic forms are revived through literary voice. Aklama figures similarly lend themselves to reinterpretation, becoming expressions of creation, endurance, and sacred continuity. Postcolonial literature adds another dimension to the meaning of traditional artifacts. Writers such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Achebe examine how cultural objects become contested under colonial pressure. A carved figure may transform from sacred heirloom to museum exhibit, from living ritual presence to displaced artifact. Through storytelling, however, literature reclaims such objects, restoring context and voice to what might otherwise be reduced to aesthetic curiosity. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Aklama figures in literary imagination is their silence. They do not speak, yet they compel speech around them. Their stillness invites reflection, memory, and interpretation. Authors use this silence to explore themes of suppressed histories, ancestral wisdom, and resilience. The figure becomes a quiet center in the narrative, absorbing conflict while symbolizing continuity. In literature, then, Aklama figures transcend their physical form. They become metaphors for endurance in the face of erasure, for identity preserved through storytelling, and for the sacred dimension of cultural memory. Through fluid narrative, writers transform carved matter into living meaning, ensuring that what stands silent in space continues to speak across time. “Who are these West African figures with such enormous presence, returning our gaze so forcefully and self confidently? What kinds of ideas and expectations are connected to them? They have however been suffused with collective experiences and personal intentions in the course of their production given them an essential spirit that endures beyond the physical existence of those who carved them. In addition, there striking patina swathes them like decorative mantel reflecting the nose contact between the figures and their former owners over the course of many years. Perhaps as objects aura is determined by the veneration people offer it. The helper spirits from Ghana once mediated between gods and humans and were consequently revered with sacrifices offered up tp them. Now decontextualized and accorded a new position, they have been lifter out of their religious ritual setting and set in a different context once defined by the aesthetics of art. The first Aklama figures found their way to Europe in the course of the conquest of Ghana and Togo by the British and Germans (19th and 20th century).” Source: AKLAM A, Helper spirits of the Ewe and Dangle, the the study collection of Horst Antes. Studienstiftung Horst Antes. The first Aklama figures found their way to Europe in the course of the conquest of Ghana and Togo by the British and Germans (19th and 20th century). Source: AKLAMA, Helper spirits of the Ewe and Dangle, the the study collection of Horst Antes. Studienstiftung Horst Antes. Some of the information is generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history. M*A*Z*1*6*1*8*5* The seller guarantees and can prove that the object was obtained legally. The seller was informed by Catawiki that they had to provide the documentation required by the laws and regulations in their country of residence. The seller guarantees and is entitled to sell/export this object. The seller will provide all provenance information known about the object to the buyer. The seller ensures that any necessary permits are/will be arranged. The seller will inform the buyer immediately about any delays in obtaining such permits. Height: 24 cm / 25 cm Weight: 130 g / 130 g (incl. stand)