Mouse Oracle Pot with lid (gbekre-sè)
Baulé
Description
This lidded vessel is a gbekre-sè (or “mouse oracle”) that would have been used by a Baulé diviner. A diviner's gourd or basket contains an assortment of natural and sculpted objects that are shaken or cast. The positions of the objects relative to each other are "read" by the practitioner. In the case of this type of divination vessel, a mouse is closed up in the pot and, in its scrambling about, rearranges twigs or other tiny objects into a configuration to be interpreted by the diviner. The figures represented on the exterior of the pot are reminiscent of baboons — baboon or other simian imagery is often incorporated into Baulé divination tools in reference to the animal’s tendency for trickery as well as power, much like the spirits with whom the diviner interacts.
Physical Description:
A ceramic vessel in two parts. The bottom of the vessel consists of a hollowed base, which has a hole in the bottom, exposing its false bottom. The decoration on the outside includes two anthromorphic figures whose limbs are stretched along the outside of the base. They are decorated with 6 elevated dots on either side.
The lid of the vessel includes 4 times 3 dots radiating from the central anthropomorphic head.
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