2005.84 Ifa divination tray (opon Ifa)

A diviner (babalawo) used this divination tray (opon Ifa) with the tapper (iroke Ifa, 1978.40) to facilitate communication with Orunmila, a deity through whom the Creator God speaks; however it is Eshu, the divine messenger who can cause uncertainty and misfortune in the world, who is portrayed on the tray. In three of the four cardinal points, his head is rendered with small hornlike forms to symbolize his generative powers. In the fourth, he is shown wearing a distinctive long-tail hairstyle and brandishing a club. In addition to images of Eshu, the artist carved a complex program of symbolic scenes that refer to Yoruba royalty, ritual, and traditional life.

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.

n.d.: Bal Denes Collection, Evanston, Illinois

2005: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from above through Crown Art (Deborah Stokes), Chicago, Illinois

The main source for this provenance is the invoice dated September 14, 2005, in the Collections Records object file (2005.84).

Apply to objects where number equals 2005.84