This highly expressive Yoruba shrine vessel is handmade from terracotta clay, employing coil method construction and a wax finish. It is embellished by concentric rings, featuring a series of opposing half-circles alternating with horizontal, serpentine contours, all of which support a gently smiling countenance. The vessel is a physical icon of “Osun,” a deity in Yoruba culture who is typically honored within appropriate cultural rituals. “The deity Osun is a female, tutelary Goddess and likewise a war monger, peacemaker, and fierce defender” (Murphy and Sanford 2001).

REFERENCES: Murphy, Joseph S. and Mei-Mei Sanford. 2001. “Osun Across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and America.” Bloomington: Indiana University Press.