In large, round, figuratively carved covered bowls, known as ‘Opon Igede’, the diviner (Babalawo) stows all objects needed for the performance of the ‘Ifa oracle’: 16 ‘holy’ palm nuts, the pointer (‘Iroke Ifa’), the small head of the god Eshu (‘Ikin Ifa’) that stands next to the divination board (‘Opon Ifa’), the white wood flour that is scattered across the board etc. The present covered bowl ‘Opon Igede’ is carved from wood and dyed black. The round lid is elaborately carved with three-dimensional figures in relief. Above lies an outstretched hare (as a handle), a snake winds itself around the hare and bites it on the right foreleg. A male figure stands in front of the hare with an object in his right hand. On the opposite side of the lid a man is stretched out, holding onto the hare’s hind-legs. A lizard (or a chameleon) in relief adorns the left and right sides of the lid. The exact meaning of this figurative scene is not known. It is possible that it represents a saying that is connected to the ‘Ifa oracle’. The bowl, under the lid, is not coloured on the inside and divided into three areas. There is a breakage to the rim of the bowl. Otherwise, no noteworthy damage. Overall this ‘Opon Igede’ shows a good, old shiny patina as a result of protracted use. Height: 25 cm (shawl closed); diameter: c. 34 cm (outer edge). First half of the 20th century. (ME)

Provenance:
Austrian private collection.

Lit.:
'Yoruba. Sculpture of West Africa' by William Fagg & John Pemberton III., ill. 56, p. 164, 165; 'Yoruba. Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought' by H. J. Drewal & J. Pemberton III., ill. 8, 13, 248.