House of the head "ile ori" ·  Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3042648

Description

leather, fabric, cowrie snails, cylindrical receptacle, coated with cloth and embroidered with cowrie shells, adorned with mirror glass (partly missing), surmounted by (later) attached bird, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage and usage, cracks.
Throughout Yorubaland, a person venerates his or her “ori-inu” (“inner head”), a personal spirit that guides an individual’s destiny. The symbol of the inner head is a small conical object, which is in turn secreted in a larger container with a conical lid called “ile-ori”, literally, “house of the head.” The “ile-ori” serves as a shrine to the “ori-inu”. Both the cowrie ornamentation and the conical shape are significant. Because of the association of cowries with currency and wealth, the cowrie-decorated “ile-ori” shrine honours the “ori-inu” and elevates the prestige of the owner.

The object House of the head “ile ori” with the object ID 3042648 was part of the auction 87th Tribal Art Auction on November 11, 2017. The object with the lot number 175 achieved a sales price of EUR 500 with an asking price of EUR 450.

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Publications

AHDRC: 0147192