Hausa Qur'anic & Fortune Teller's Board

Bold, upright lines of script run down the whole board without a single wobble.

This Qur'anic and fortune teller's board is Hausa, from West Africa, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is wood & ink. The Hausa live mainly in northern Nigeria and southern Niger, and Hausa cities have been important centers of Islamic learning and trade for many centuries. Upright and tall board with a short handle and a deeply curved notch at the base. Dark brown ink script fills most of the face in evenly spaced lines. The grain is pale and the edges are slightly darkened from handling. It is 10 inches wide, 0.75 deep and 20.5 high.

Confident handwriting on a very patient surface.