a) divination cup (bowl); supported by a cock, biting a snak which in turn is biting the cock's leg; carved wood; self platform base w/a staple and a missing vedge; side of cock cracked; white & blue paint on natural color; incised grooves and blue triangles on rim of cup; H: 19.7 cm. b-q) 16 palm nuts in various sizes.
Donor:
Berta Bascom
Verbatim coll. place:
Nigeria, Igana, Yoruba, Ifa; Carver: Baba Alawode
Culture or time period:
Yoruba
Collector:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection date:
March 1938
Materials:
Nut, Paint (coating), Palm, and Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Cups (drinking vessels)
Function:
5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies
Context of use:
to hold the sacred palm nuts 'Ikin' of Ifa during divination; the cock and snake caught in an endless struggle is a common motif for divination cups.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
a— height 19.7 centimeters
Comment:
Ifa. Igana. Baba Alawode, carver. 3/11/38, unused but 4 years old, ako ire wood, painted w/ native paints. B/W photo stored with Bascom Collection Index Card File. Also includes #1915 and #2117. Slide. PAHMA Storage Loc: W-18-10
Loans:
S1968-1969 #39: Contra Costa College (November 18, 1968–December 27, 1968) and S1968-1969 #87: College of Marin (April 3, 1969–May 2, 1969)