Divination tray (Opon Ifa)
Maker
Nigerian
Maker
Yoruba
Label TextIn the presence of a diviner, a tray becomes a window of spiritual insights and practical solutions. Anxious clients can see the face of Esu, the divine and troublesome mediator, at the top. Wood dust is spread on the central circle, where the diviner will mark signs of the divine messages he is called upon to recite.
Object number81.17.623
Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Text by Robert Farris Thompson. No cat. no., pp. 154, 156, reproduced pl. 194 (as "ifa" tray).
Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
Dimensions1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)
Diam.: 16 in.
MediumWood
log in
