Figural Container

Hollowed for use as a vessel, this sculpture was created for divination practices and doubles as a medicine container. The carved head is a removable stopper of the type used throughout eastern Africa to dispense ritual substances. Such sculptural forms are often customized to reflect an individual purpose. The frame-like lines around the eyes on this object could represent the saif malik mask worn by women from Oman, so it may have been intended to counteract dangers related to regional slave traders from the Arabian Peninsula.