| The medium is an ordinary gourd that has been cut in half, scraped out, and dried before being carved. The surface of this simple, bisected sphere is covered with a series of finely incised interlace and bird motifs framed by elaborate borders. Here, the universe is envisioned as an entity composed of two distinct symmetrical units. The upper half depicts orun, the invisible spiritual realm of the ancestors, gods, and spirits, while the bottom half symbolizes aye, the visible, tangible world of the living. Thus, the work expresses the Yoruba cosmos as a union of structurally equal, autonomous elements, found repeatedly as the guiding principle in other Yoruba sacred artifacts. |
