Hausa Qur'anic & Fortune Teller's Board

Big triangle of angular marks and a wheel-like sun fill a board with scratchy confidence.

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. Wooden writing boards are traditionally used in West African Qur'anic schools, where students copy verses in ink and then wash the board clean so that it can be used again. Wide board with a rounded shoulder and notched base. Brown incised lines make a large triangle holding smaller triangles and diamonds, with a bird-like figure near the top and a radiating wheel shape below. Lines extend off to the left edge. It is 9.5 inches wide, 0.75 deep and 18.5 high.

Strong geometry and a very free hand.