Site Loader
Rock Street, San Francisco
  • Current Language:
  • fr
  • Select Language:

This is the rating and price for African Yoruba Wooden Ifa Divination Bowl, Ca. 1920, 1970



Description : West Africa, Nigeria, Yoruba peoples, ca. 1920 CE. A beautiful divination vessel (agere ifa), hand-carved from hard wood, used to store the sixteen sacred palm nuts (ikin) traditionally used as a special element in the Yoruba divination ritual. Priests have traditionally used such vessels to communicate with Orunmila, the god of fate, in hopes of attaining insights to an individual's destiny. This agere ifa is supported by a finely-carved rooster atop an integral circular plinth painted in an emerald-green hue. The stylized rooster has some naturalistic details such as a slender beak, wide feet, and a large, feathered tail, and the fowl is covered in thick layers of natural indigo pigment. Two drooping panels bearing incised crosshatch motifs hang from either side of the bowl, and dense latticework and triangular details adorn the rim of the bowl. Size: 6.2 in Diameter x 6.5 H (15.7 cm x 16.5 cm). Provenance: ex-private Southern California, USA collection, ex- Dr. Robert Berg, Professor of Art (retired), San Diego State University collection, purportedly ex-Christie's, 1970s All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #138116
Price: 871.50 USD It's free to register now to view!
Estimate (low-high) : 1200 USD-1500 USD It's free to register now to view!

About the lot N° 175C
Title : African Yoruba Wooden Ifa Divination Bowl, Ca. 1920, Period : 1970
Condition report : Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age and use, a few stable hairline fissures around base, rooster body, and bowl with a small staple securing the bowl, some fading to applied pigmentation and some finer carved details, and light roughness across most surfaces. Nice earthen deposits and pigmentation traces throughout. Old inventory label adhesive residue beneath base.
Artemis Gallery, auctioneer, Louisville, US It's free to register now to view!
Sale title : Fine Antiquities / Asian / Ethnographic Art
Sale date : 30 Aug 2018 It's free to register now to view!
Sale Reference : Live Sale

Interested in valuating work ? 

AfricartMarket Insights

Access exclusive information.Sign-up here for our newsletter and we’ll keep you updated. You can unsubscribe at any time.

 

We respect your privacy. No spam.