Details

Title

Ifá Divination Container (Agere Ifá)

Artist/Maker

Yoruba Artist, Ketu, Nigeria

Date

Late nineteenth–early twentieth

Medium

Wood and pigment

Dimensions

7 1/2 x 7 1/4 x 7 1/4 inches

Credit

Gift of Bernard and Patricia Wagner

Accession #

2008.281

Location

On View - Stent Family Wing, Skyway, Gallery 401

This divination bowl was used for storing the sacred palm nuts used for divination. Its center of attention is a horseman flanked by a warrior holding a sword and a woman with a child on her back. Behind the warrior is a dùndún drummer. Following the woman is another warrior holding a gun and carrying a keg of alcohol or gunpowder. The container’s imagery evokes a popular prayer to Òrúnmìlà: Ifa, let me ride horseback in triumph. I am Boroye, the first prince of Ado. Ifa, let me ride horseback in triumph.