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A work made of ivory.

Tapper (Iroke Ifa)

17th or 18th century

Yoruba Owo region, Nigeria Coastal West Africa

Nigeria

A Yoruba diviner strikes a tapper against his tray to call the deity of fate, Orunmila, to the proceedings. The middle section of this ivory tapper depicts a kneeling hunter who clutches a bow and arrow in his right hand and a large crocodile in his left.

Ivory

Arts of Africa