Nigerian Offertory Bowl with Lid
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https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/d03d2740-0d92-0135-23f6-0050569601ca-9
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Descriptive Information
| Title | Nigerian Offertory Bowl with Lid |
| Description | A decorative bowl carved from a single piece of wood in the form of a kneeling woman holding a lidded bowl in the shape of a rooster. The woman has large breasts and is unclothed. Four rings suggesting neck rings are carved around her neck and three rings are carved at her hips. The arms and shoulders are carved to suggest a triangular tattoo decoration. The eyes are large, bulging half-circles, the lips are full, and three vertical scarification marks are carved into each cheek. Parallel carved lines on the head indicate an elaborate hairstyle. Geometric carvings on the bowl feathers. |
| Interpretation | In Yoruban society, special bowls were used to store valuables, for presenting gifts of food to important visitors, and as part of rituals. Various realistically carved figures were used. Kneeling suggests a relationship to a higher force and is a pose of respect, whether it is a subject kneeling before his king, a young bride before her husband, or a child for a parent. Here a woman offers a fowl, a traditional Yoruban motif and an animal typically sacrificed in Yoruban rituals; a kneeling mother with child is also common in Yoruban art. Images in African art rarely depict specific people, but instead are generic symbols of the lineage, progeny and clan forebears. This bowl may have been used to store kola nuts for ritual use. Kola nuts are the seed of a large tree. They were chewed at the beginning of important functions to heighten the participant's senses. Kola nut is an ingredient in the popular Coca-Cola beverage. Kola nuts are used as offerings to Ifa, the god of divination; one can pose problems or questions to Ifa and through a divination ceremony receive advice or a solution. |
| Lesson Plans / Themes | |
| Learning Standards | |
| Author or Creator | Yoruba (African people) Social life and customs |
| Source | Donated to the Lakeview Museum by Richard K. Meyer. |
| Subject / Keywords | |
| Spatial Coverage | Nigeria |
| Temporal Coverage | 1850/1900 |
| Collection Publisher | Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences |
| Rights | Copyright Not Evaluated |
| Resource Identifier | LVM1978.013.001 |
| Date Created | 37419 |
| Collection Title | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community) |
| Collection | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community) |
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Nigerian Offertory Bowl with Lid |