Yoruba Ajere Ifa Divination Bowl, Ketu Region, Republic of Benin or Nigeria

William Wright, New York
Balene McCormick, Santa Fe, acquired from the above on June 26, 1985

Stable condition. Marks, nicks, scratches, abrasions, and chipping throughout consistent with age and use. Two age cracks to top of bowl. Age cracks to foot including two narrow wedge-shaped cracks, one with a small loss to the outside edge. Chips and losses throughout including as seen in catalogue photographs including: losses to outside arms of the four attendants. Losses to fifteen of the tassle-shaped points below top edge of bowl. One female attendant with loss to proper left breast. Loss to bottom end of staff held in the proper right hand of central figure. Erosion to underside of base. Hole in center of foot for attachment to pedestal. Rim of base toned in with brown pigment. Fine dark brown patina with encrustation and remains of red and blue pigment.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Featuring a male figure on horseback, presumably a chief, flanked by four attendents, two women in front followed by two men in the back, the McCormick Ajere Ifa is a sculptural tour-de-force work by an unknown Yoruba artist from the Ketu region who was active in the middle of the 19th century.  Two other works by the same hand are known, both in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago: a stool for a Shango altar (inv. no. "2002.276") and an Eshu scepter (inv. no. "1991.396").  Elaborately carved bowls such as the McCormick Ajere Ifa were receptacles for the sixteen palm nuts and other equipment used during the ifa divination oracle.  Its complex iconography, splendid quality and sheer size attest to its ritual importance and suggest that it was commissioned by a diviner of high status.