Divination Implement (Kashekesheke)

early 20th century

African Art

On view, 1st floor, African Art

Luba diviners are consulted for all kinds of problems or misfortunes: illness, death, marital discord, theft, pestilence, and drought. During a consultation, the diviner holds this device together with his client to invoke an ancestral spirit who will clarify the problem at hand. The motions of the device are interpreted as answers from the spirit.

Medium

Wood

Dimensions

4 15/16 × 2 9/16 × 1 15/16 in. (12.5 × 6.5 × 5 cm)

Credit Line

Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933, Collection

Accession Number

2006.51.35

Culture
Period

20th century

Classification
Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Provenance

Alan Brandt, New York, to Feb. 24, 1982; Charles B. Benenson Collection, Greenwich, Conn 1982–2004; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Bibliography
  • Frederick John Lamp, Amanda Maples, and Laura M. Smalligan, Accumulating Histories: African Art from the Charles B. Benenson Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2012), 97, ill
  • "Acquisitions, July 1, 2005–June 30, 2006," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2006), 222
Object copyright
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