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Ifá divination vessel (àgéré Ifá)

mid- late 1800s

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

The mother figure of this vessel from the Southern Ekiti region represents a devotee who kneels before the gods. The vessel once held the 16 sacred palm nuts essential to divination rituals. The object was used by a priest as a medium through which to communicate with the god of fate, Orunmila, in order to gain insight into an individual’s destiny or to understand the cause of misfortune.

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  • Title: Ifá divination vessel (àgéré Ifá)
  • Date Created: mid- late 1800s
  • Physical Dimensions: Overall: 31.7 x 15.7 x 15.9 cm (12 1/2 x 6 3/16 x 6 1/4 in.)
  • Provenance: Charles Davis, by purchase in Togo ca.1979-1982, (Davis Gallery, New Orleans, LA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Type: Sculpture
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1994.200
  • Medium: Wood and colorant
  • Department: African Art
  • Culture: Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, possibly Èkìtì State, Yorùbá carver
  • Credit Line: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
  • Collection: African Art
  • Accession Number: 1994.200
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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