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Standing with open arms, this doll symbolizes fertility according to the Ashanti people of Ghana. Her face is beautiful and expressive, and she serves as a proud emblem of tradition. Winfred Korley carves this statuette by hand of sese wood with extraordinary attention to detail. Twin children adorn each cheek.

Hand-carved of African sese wood, her stylized contours are graceful and feminine. Beads adorn the body of this beautiful fertility doll by Emmanuel Opoku Asante, and she wears a red loincloth. Believed to assist a woman who wants to conceive a baby, this doll is representative of Ghana's Fanti people.

Hand-carved of African sese wood, her stylized contours are graceful and feminine. Beads adorn the body of this beautiful fertility doll by Emmanuel Opoku Asante, and she wears a red loincloth. Believed to assist a woman who wants to conceive a baby, this doll is representative of Ghana's Ashanti people.

A mother and child stand together, crafted of Ghanaian sese wood with a charming, antiqued finish. Featuring characteristically exaggerated heads, this fertility doll represents an African tradition as they are often given to women who are hoping to conceive. Hand-carved by Winfred Korley, the mother and child wear beaded jewelry of recycled glass. Korley names the sculpture Akosua, a name given to women who are born on Sunday.

Robert Kofi Ellis designs an extraordinary version of the legendary fertility doll of Akan origin. Called Akuaba, the doll is characterized by a big round head, very short neck, open arms and a long lean body. Carved of sese wood, the sculpture is adorned with aluminum plates on the head and breasts, as well as painted red lips, eyelids and accents on her headdress.

According to legend, there once was a woman who couldn't conceive, so the village priest told her to craft a doll, dress it and look after it as she would a child. Soon she'd have a child of her own. Custom persists and many women prepare their own Akuaba doll, and when the child is born, Akuaba is given as the baby's first toy.