H x W x D: 81.3 x 39.6 x 4.0 cm (32 x 15 9/16 x 1 9/16 in.)
Type:
Textile and Fiber Arts
Geography:
Nigeria
Date:
Mid-20th century
Label Text:
Clothes, accessories and works of sculpture can signal the wealth, power and position of their owners. Elaborate clothes and hats and heavy jewelry made of rare or valuable materials, such as gold, copper alloy or glass beads, indicate both the financial security and the discerning eye of the owner--a message reinforced in the quality and quantity of prestige items.
Yoruba consider only the gods or those who communicate with them to be entitled to own and display fully beaded objects, such as this diviner's bag. Diviners, like rulers, mediate forces in the spiritual realm. Sacred colors and a range of beaded forms commemorate the breadth and depth of their spiritual knowledge. A Yoruba diviner, or babalawo, used this beaded bag to store the implements he needed to conduct divining sessions with his clients.
Description:
Square shaped cloth bag with a strap. The front flap is decorated with multi-colored beaded designs and motifs. The background of the front flap is green. All of the faces are raised designs. The two faces in the upper left and right hand corners are composed of yellow beads with red and white beaded eyes. Each has black beaded zigzag designs on their foreheads, three black vertical beaded designs under each eye and white beads for teeth. The face in the middle foreground is dark green with red and white beaded eyes. There is a diamond shaped motif in the middle of the forehead with light blue beads at the center surrounded by white and dark blue beads. The teeth are white. This face is flanked by an orange and yellow floral pattern and two crosses, one on either side of the face. In the middle background is an orange and white beaded triangle motif with six vertical lines that appear also on the strap. The strap also has orange and green checked designs. The bag is surrounded by a silver beaded fringe. The back and inside of the bag is composed of dark blue and light blue striped cloth.
Provenance:
Michael Oliver, New York, ca. 1989 to 2000
Exhibition History:
African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (deinstalled March 30, 2016)
African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010-November 13, 2013
Content Statement:
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