Divination bowl - Medium density wood - Yoruba - Nigeria

Smashing Divination bowl – Yoruba – Nigeria In fine state. It dates to around 1930 – 1940. Provenance: Ex – collection of Ursula Voorhuis. Bought from her in Nijmegen / Berg en Dal around 1975 – 1980. A Yoruba divination bowl of carved wood formed part of the fixed kit of tools of the Babalawo or diviner. It comes with a tray or board and a tapper plus 16 palmnut kernels (ikin) . This Agere Ifa or bowl depicts a mother and child, holding a hollowed-out container with lid to contain the nuts in front of her. The lid in this case is crowned with a rooster, known for its alertness and use as an offering animal. The mama has ample breasts and wears an Islamic amulet in the shape of a leather pouch with koranic text about the neck. This would mean that this piece stems from the northern Yoruba where such amulets were widely worn, taken over from the Haussa Nation where such protecting devices or Leah are very common. Both mother and child have tribal marks. We find traces of white and blue pigments in the deeper lying parts of this splendid carving. The nuts are repeatedly thrown on the board to read the answers of Ifa, the god of divination, to the questions put before it. Literature: William Fagg, John Pemberton the Third and Bruce Holcombe (editors) : Yoruba, Sculpture of West Africa, New York, 1982, pp. 82 ff. Dimensions: 44 x 15 x 29 cm. Region / People: The Yoruba occupy a large section of land in S. W. Nigeria. Material: Medium density wood. Weight: 1. 390 kg. For the original text from seller, set language on this site to: English. Sold with written declaration of authenticity by Dr. P. Westerdijk, museum ethnologist and cultural anthropologist specialized in the material cultures of people living south of the Sahara. Sent by registered and insured mail.