Rubbing Oracle
CultureKuba peoples
Date1875-1900
MediumWood, cowries, glass beads, wire, and fiber
DimensionsOverall: 2 1/4 × 13 1/2 × 3 inches (5.72 × 34.29 × 7.62 cm)
Credit LineGift of Shirley and Barnett C. Helzberg Jr.
Object number2013.42.8
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionElongated animal which is ritually used as a divining oracle, elongated snout, with attached fiber at neck with a small round object which is part of the divinationProvenanceWith Lavuun Quackelbeen, Brussels, Belgium [1];
Purchased from Quackelbeen by Marc Leo Félix, Brussels, Belgium, stock no. FX 980213, 1998-June 25, 1999 [2];
Purchased from Félix by Shirley and Barnett C. Helzberg, Jr., Mission Hills, KS, June 25, 1999-2013;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2013.
NOTES:
[1] According to dealer Marc Leo Félix, in email correspondence with MacKenzie Mallon, Specialist, Provenance, February 13, 2023, NAMA curatorial files.
[2] Félix’s stock number is on a label on the underside of the object’s base and written on the underside of the object itself.
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is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
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If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
2013.47.14
2015.39
