Hausa Qur'anic & Fortune Teller's Board

Diamonds, lozenges and a brick-patterned bar march down a board with a stubby handle.

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. Ink for such boards is typically made from soot or plant material mixed with a binder, and the pen is cut from a reed or a similar stem. Pale board with a short handle and a gently curved base. The face carries brown line designs: a long lattice bar with diamonds inside, a large lozenge at one side and small diamonds at the other. It is 9 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 18.5 high.

All pattern and no words, which is its own kind of writing.