This piece represents one of the most iconic traditions in Yoruba society – that of divination. Divination systems in western Africa have received considerable attention from ethnographers and art historians alike. The paraphernalia of fortune-telling and divination varies between tribes, from the Baule 'mouse oracle' to the Ngombo basket oracles of the Chokwe. It is perhaps the Yoruba, however, that have produced the most enduring forms of divination artefacts. The “Ifa” traditions have some antiquity; the first recorded African wooden artefact ever to be brought back to Europe (in the sixteenth century) was a tray in this style. All the animals in the Yoruba artistic pantheon are endowed with specific meanings and qualities; the stork is a symbol of good fortune (the “language” of birds in Yoruban art is very complex), as is the curled mudfish, which is often portrayed on royal art of the Benin tradition. The mischevous spirit "Eshu' is depicted twice, smoking a pipe and carrying a string of beads. The only symmetrical element of the tray is the pair of faces that – through “seeing” – are associated with the visionary aspects of the tray's function. There are also four panels that each contain four maize cobs, perhaps a reference to the good fortune/nutrition to come.

The Yoruba peoples of Nigeria have what is probably the longest extant artistic tradition in Africa. The nation state is comprised of numerous subsections that were joined historically by the rise and collapse of the Ife (12th to 15th centuries) and Benin (13th to 19th centuries) polities. Each of the sub-kingdoms – including Oyo, Ijebu and smaller units towards the west – had their heyday, and are loosely united through language and culture, although they still retain a measure of independence in terms of their artistic traditions. It is extremely hard to summarise the nature of Yoruba society given the large area they cover and the inevitable variability of their customs.

The Yoruba – being a large, complex society – is sedentary, agriculturist and hierarchical. They are ruled by hereditary kings known as Obas, and their access to the supernatural world is supervised by a very complex arrangement of priests (i.e. Olowa) and spiritual intermediaries. Their cosmology is arranged in terms of the tangible realm of the living (aye) and the invisible realm of the spirits and the hereafter (orun). Their relationship is sometimes described as being that of a gourd with tightly-interlocking upper and lower halves, or as a divination board with a raised rim and a depressed centre. The creator of the world is Olodumare (or Odumare, Olorun, Eleda or Eleemi, depending on the area), who is the source of all ase – life force. Orun is populated by all manner of spirits (iwin, ajogun, egbe and oro), gods (orisa) and ancestors (ara orun), all of whom influence the living. They can all be reached, appealed to or appeased through human intermediaries such as the babalawo (diviner). Most Yoruban artistic heritage is designed to thwart evil spirits, and to placate or honour those that bring good fortune to the populace.

As mentioned above, the divination board – or Ifa – is symbolic of the Yoruba cosmos. The duality of the visible and spiritual worlds is represented by the board’s plain centre and decorated rim, which displays mythologically and historically-significant symbols as well as everyday concerns that might be broached during a consultation. The board is usually covered with a thin layer of sawdust. The diviner will use a “tapper” (usually an ivory wand) to draw lines separating out the three paths of life, in order to open the channels of spiritual communication. A set of sixteen palm-nuts (Ikin) or a chain (Opele)is then thrown onto the board; the manner in which they land enables the babalawo to inform the client as to the spiritual forces at work in his or her life, the means by which to avoid ill-fortune (sacrifice, usually) and how to stabilise their spiritual harmonies. This tradition has been prevalent in West Africa for at least 500 years if not considerably longer, and it is a fundamental part of Yoruban life. This is a well-made and decorated tray, and a worthy addition to any collection of the genre.