Oracle tapper "iroke ifa" · Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3037528
Description
ivory, honey brown patina, carved with a kneeling woman, the bottom section is hollowed out to form a small bell originally provided with an iron clapper, rep. (breakage at the rim), traces of abrasion, base;
tappers are made of wood, brass or ivory. They are used by the diviners to strike the “ifa” tray with the pointed end in order to attract Orunmilas attention at the beginning of the session. The broad end is often hollowed, forming a bell, with a small clapper inside, which is rattled during invocations.
The object Oracle tapper “iroke ifa” with the object ID 3037528 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 364 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,000.
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