A Dangme sculpture, Ghana frrom the South West region, with simple features. Encrusted patina, remnants of white kaolin. A Dangme sculpture from southwestern Ghana exemplifies the integration of visual form, ritual practice, and social authority characteristic of Dangme artistic traditions. In this region, sculptures are primarily created for spiritual, ceremonial, or communal purposes rather than for aesthetic display alone. They function as intermediaries between the living community and ancestral or spiritual forces, reinforcing moral conduct, social cohesion, and continuity within the society. Formally, southwestern Dangme sculptures display elongated and stylized human forms, emphasizing upright posture and compositional balance. Facial features are simplified yet expressive, with high-set eyes, a straight or slightly curved nose, and a composed mouth, conveying dignity, introspection, and moral authority. Limbs are often streamlined, and the overall volume is smooth and harmonious, reflecting ideals of stability, order, and restraint. Minimal ornamentation ensures that the sculpture’s symbolic and ritual significance is communicated through form and proportion rather than decorative excess. These sculptures are typically associated with ritual enclosures, shrines, or funerary practices. They may embody ancestral presence, provide protection, or serve as focal points for community rites that affirm ethical norms, social hierarchy, and spiritual continuity. The efficacy of the sculpture is understood to depend on correct ritual treatment and sustained engagement, including offerings, libations, or ceremonial activation. Carvers work within established stylistic conventions transmitted through apprenticeship, balancing technical skill with adherence to social and spiritual norms. Individual variation is generally subtle, visible in the refinement of proportions, carving details, or surface finish, while overall form remains consistent with cultural ideals. The sculpture’s authority is derived from both its formal correctness and its function within the communal and ritual context. In sum, Dangme sculptures from southwestern Ghana exemplify a tradition in which form, ritual, and social values are inseparable. These works act as active participants in community life, embodying ancestral presence, moral guidance, and spiritual mediation, while sustaining the cultural and ethical frameworks of Dangme society. MAZ08966