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From the museum

Boxes carved into animal shapes, like this goose, held kolanuts. A source of caffeine, the kolanut seed is harvested from evergreen tree fruits. Guests to Yorùbá homes are offered the bitter nuts as a sign of hospitality; sometimes nut-filled boxes are placed on shrines. As birds are used as sacrifices, this box can be seen as a double offering of both fowl and fruit. The carver shaped and painted this waterfowl with great detail: rimmed eyes, alternating feather colors, and jointed legs ending in three-toed feet. According to a Cleveland Museum of Natural History ornithologist, these details suggest an Egyptian goose. Yorùbá language distinguishes between "artist" and "carver" based on the object someone is making.

The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0