A Yoruba divination bowl

A Yoruba divination bowl

Nigeria

the previously circular base with a carved maternal group of a seated female supporting a child suckling from her left breast and with a further child on her back, the mother supporting the bowl with two side lifts,

26cm high.

Provenance

Private Collection, Germany.

Koller, Zurich, Switzerland, Tribal Art, 23rd June 2007, lot 316.

Private Collection, Australia and UK.

The older child and the mother have elongated heads, a style seen in the Igbomina area of Nigeria. This trait of the carver allows both heads a clever balance with them and the bowl.