Mortar "odu" ·  Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3037451

Description

heavy wood, brown patina, black paint, kaolin, indigo blue pigment, cylindrical wooden block, hollowed underside, the front side carved with the figure of “eshu”, emblems and figures on either side: leopard, turtle and snake, slightly dam., minor missing parts, cracks;
inverted mortar of the type used to pound yam. Serving as support for calabashs containing the prehistoric stone axes “edun ara”, which “orisha shango” used to throw against those who displeased him.

The object Mortar “odu” with the object ID 3037451 was last part of the auction 78th tribal art auction at October 18, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 355 achieved a sales price of EUR 400.

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Comparing literature

Drewal, Henry John & John Pemberton, Yoruba, New York 1989, p. 144