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Kola nut tray (okwa oji)
Igbo
20th century, 1950–2000
Object Place: Nigeria
Medium/Technique
Wood (patinated)
Dimensions
Overall: 23 x 41 cm (9 1/16 x 16 1/8 in.)
Overall (bowl alone): 12 cm (4 3/4 in.)
Overall (lid alone): 14 x 26 x 9 cm (5 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 3 9/16 in.)
Overall (bowl alone): 12 cm (4 3/4 in.)
Overall (lid alone): 14 x 26 x 9 cm (5 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 3 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2723
CollectionsContemporary Art, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsDecorative arts
A stimulant, kola nuts are widely traded throughout West Africa, and people share and consume them during ritual and ceremonial occasions. Carved in hard, blackened wood, this serving tray, with delicate incised patterns around its rim, holds the nuts; a central container with fully articulated bearded male heads serves for sauces and spices
Inscriptionsblack marker on bottom and inside lid: "Ib3"
Provenance1987, sold by a Mr. Omar, Cambridge, MA, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)