Carved from a single piece of very heavy and dense wood, this altar is hollowed like a mortar, the wall decorated in relief with symbols typical of "shango", such as the figure, the shamans ritual bag, shakers or staffs and a Y like symbol of a ladder to reach to the spirit world. Such altars serve as pedestals / bases for utensils used in the cult of the thunder god. This heavy altar base was used in ceremonial and ritual context among the cult of Shango, Yourba peoples, Abeokuta region, Nigeria, Africa. Provenance: Ex. Private New York Collection.