Mar 01, 2012 - Sale 2271

Sale 2271 - Lot 97

Price Realized: $ 360
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600
(AFRICA--ISLAM.) Madrasa Student's Koranic learning tablet. Wood, 20-1/2 x 9-1/2 inches, writing in ink on both sides, some partially wiped off leaving a patina of white kaolin on the surface of the board. Sub-Saharan Africa, 1930s-1950s
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Students of the Koran in Sub-Saharan Africa would write their lessons on boards like this, to learn to write. They would then memorize the lines from a chapter of the Koran by chanting them aloud with their fellow students. After lessons were learned, the lines would be rubbed off with an abrasive substance, which accounts for the smooth patina. Boards like this are common anywhere from Guinea Bissau to Senegal, Chad and Ghana, virtually anywhere Islam is practiced in Sub-Saharan Africa.