H x W x D: 22.5 x 27 x 27 cm (8 7/8 x 10 5/8 x 10 5/8 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Nigeria
Date:
Mid-20th century
Label Text:
Ifa divination bowls are used to store palm nuts, opele necklaces or other materials and tools used in Ifa divination, a process by which a skilled diviner gains insight into a client’s destiny as well as the sources and solutions to a range of problems. This bowl, with the whimsical relief carving of a rabbit on its lid, was the first work of art purchased by the museum.
Description:
Round wood divination bowl with a three dimensional rabbit on the lid top. In low relief on the sides are: a coiled mudfish on sticks, a bird with spread wings, two rows possibly representing beads, a W form possibly representing a fish legged figure and a pecking bird. The interior is divided.
Provenance:
Galerie Khepri, Amsterdam, 1967
Exhibition History:
African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (installed July 16, 2014–August 12, 2019)
Thinking with Animals, African Images and Perceptions, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., March 24-September 7, 1982
Content Statement:
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