Object Name: Beaded container lid
Place of Origin: Nigeria
Cultural Group: Yoruba peoples
Materials Used: Cardboard, wood, paper, cotton, burlap, felt, glass beads
Dimensions: H: 30 cm, Diam: 21 cm (H: 11.8 in, Diam: 8.2 in)
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. The Jerome L. Joss Collection. X90.700

Rulers in Yorubaland possess a profusion of beaded objects. one object type is the beaded container designed to hold personal belongings and a variety of items such as kolanuts, for distribution to favored guests. The form of this lid plays upon the conical shape of beaded crowns (Ade), the container for a person’s symbol of individuality, identity, and destiny (ile ori), as well as the sacred clay sculptures for the riverain deity Erinle. The missing beaded finial figure may have been a bird, often a reference to the mystical powers of women.

Source: Ross, Doran H. ed. (1994): “Visions of Africa”, Los Angeles, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 75