Hausa Qur'anic & Fortune Teller's Board

Four small circles with diamonds inside sit on this board like buttons on a coat.

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. Light tan board with a narrow handle at the top and a gently wavy lower edge. Four circles, each holding a diamond with a dotted center line, are laid out in a diamond arrangement in brown lines. The surface is smooth. It is 9.75 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 19 high.

Four small suns and nothing else to say.