Oracle bowl Nigeria/Yoruba Mid 20th century

Oracle bowl "agere ifa" with a kneeling woman, a child on her back and a wooden bowl on her head (caryatid); Nigeria / Yoruba; Mid 20th century; Carved wood, matt patina, remains of blue pigment on the head and on the wooden shell; the shells were used by a priest for predictions as cult vessels (storage of the 16 palm nuts); two breaks in the upper and lower area; measurements: 22,5 x 16,5 cm; traces of use according to age; provenance: Estate / collection Gundi and Heinz Scharpf (1940-2018); The famous zookeepers from the Wilhelma zoological and botanical garden in Stuttgart had acquired the African objects during their trips to Cameroon and West Africa in the 1960s and 1970s; Literature: "Sculptures from West Africa; William Fagg & John Pemberton "