Tray (Opon Ifa)

YorubaWW-1930-128398

1930·Wood and pigment·45.8 × 44.5 × 1.3 cm (18 × 17 1/2 × 1/2 in.)

<p>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.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1930
Medium: Wood and pigment
Dimensions: 45.8 × 44.5 × 1.3 cm (18 × 17 1/2 × 1/2 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Yoruba

Artist

Yoruba

Textile

Yoruba is an Atlantic–Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. Yoruba speakers number roughly 50 million, including around 2 million second-language or L2 speakers. As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria, Benin, and Togo with smaller migrated communities in Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia.

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