Description
Used by a male or female diviner, this tray features the image of Eshu, the divine mediator between the spirit and human realms. His face is framed by mothers kneeling to make offerings in bowls. A priest holding a staff below one of them refers to Osanyin, the deity of herbal medicine. The carved band of cowrie shells recalls the real shells that are cast onto the tray during a divination session.
Provenance
Jeffrey Hammer and Deborah Stokes, Chicago, IL, by 1989 [Robbins and Nooter, 1989, p. 245, no. 624]; sold to the Art Institute, 1999.
Accession Number
152014
Medium
Wood and pigment
Dimensions
45.8 × 44.5 × 1.3 cm (18 × 17 1/2 × 1/2 in.)
Classification
ritual objects
Credit Line
Laura T. Magnuson Endowment