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Oracle stool and gourd - Tanzania
25" tall x 8" wide
wood, animal skin, beads, cowry shells, gourd, rope, pigment

$900

Even though I bought these two objects separately I decided to sell them together since I thought they
complimented each other very well.

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Small stools such as this were used by an oracle to communicate with the ancestors. Gourds with
anthropomorphic stoppers/dippers were sometimes placed on top of a small stool to serve as an
ancestor figure. For examples of these stools and gourds, see the book "Mwana Hiti" by Marc Felix.


Despite its appearance, I believe the stool was most likely made specifically for the collecting market.