Diviner's Belt

Arts of Africa

Early/mid–20th century

Baule
Côte d’Ivoire
Coastal West Africa

This belt may have belonged to a diviner whose skills derived from a close relationship with a wilderness spirit. Special training allows diviners to work in concert with such spirits to reveal the sources of human illness and trouble. Wilderness spirits often ask the people they possess to have unique objects like this elaborate belt, or weapons [see 1999.380], made for them, to be displayed during a diviner’s public trance performances.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Baule
Title: Diviner's Belt
Place: Côte d'Ivoire (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1900–1975
Medium: Leather, fur, gourd, shell, and wood
Dimensions: 21.6 × 85.1 × 16.5 cm (8 1/2 × 33 1/2 × 6 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of E. Carl Douglas and Family
Reference Number: 2011.706

Reginald Groux, Galerie Noir d’Ivoire, Paris, or Robert Duperrier (died 1996), Paris; sold to Damon Brandt, New York, N.Y., between 1987 and 1992; sold to Douglas Dawson Gallery, Chicago, Ill., 2000; sold to unnamed owner, Ariz., 2000; consigned to Douglas Dawson Gallery, Chicago, Ill., 2007; sold to E. Carl Douglas [as promised gift to the Art Institute], 2010; given to the Art Institute, 2011.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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