The Akua'ba doll has become one of the most immediately recognizable images from Africa. With its distinctive disc-shaped head and gentle expression the Akua'ba occupies a unique artistic position between abstraction and realism; at once aesthetically and emotionally pleasing. Though adhering to a basic style, each doll has its own personality. This lovely doll epitomizes the genre with its slightly closed eyes, sweeping eyebrows, coiled neck, short arms and cylindrical body. The pattern on the back of the head may represent a hairstyle, or be a symbol to ward of evil. A young girl would have carried the doll around with her, treating it as a living child. This preparation has its practical side, and also serves to prove to the spirits the girl will make a good mother. After she has had her real baby, the doll may be given back to the priest who mediated in the conception, or kept as a memorabilia. And though the Akua'ba represents the Asante woman's ideal of beauty, it is a form people from other cultures can identify with. This universality is what gives it such mystery and appeal.