Mouse Oracle
Baule · Côte d’Ivoire
Reference: ORC-2
View 1 of 3 · Press the image to enlarge
- Height
- 26 cm
- Material
- Wood and pigments
It is a wooden container, with two floors inside. On the lower floor, separated by a small platform or floor from the upper, the fortune teller…
Enquire about this objectPhotographs (3)
Full original description
It is a wooden container, with two floors inside. On the lower floor, separated by a small platform or floor from the upper, the fortune teller introduces a small mouse to fast. On the upper floor he has previously arranged some sticks, some pieces of wood or cauris Add some rice, cereal, or any other food. Attracted by the smell of food, the mouse rises, through a hole intended for this purpose in the separation plate of both floors, and when eating the food displaces the sticks or cauris. Meanwhile the fortune teller has closed his top floor and pronounced ritual enchantments. Then the new order of objects provoked by the mouse is interpreted by the soothsayer, immersed in meditation.
The mouse, as an animal very much in contact with the earth, has a close relationship with the goddess of the earth Asyé, wife of the God of Heaven Niamyé. The cutting of this oracle, semi-spherical in form, is finished by a chair Akan.
Further technical information
- Width
- 18 cm
- Attributed period
- Mid-century XX
Details transcribed from the original catalogue; they are not a recent physical inspection.
Country on the map
Côte d’Ivoire. The country associated with the catalog is shown, not the current location of the piece.
Google Maps is loaded only when you press the button.
Attributions, dates and accounts come from the preserved catalogue. They do not constitute certification of authenticity or provenance. An object’s presence on this website does not mean it is available for sale.
