Tray (Opon Ifa)

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.

Tray (Opon Ifa)

Areogun of Osi-Ilorin

Mid–20th century, probably 1930s

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

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Laura T. Magnuson Endowment