Object Name: Beaded bag
Place of Origin: Nigeria
Cultural Group: Yoruba peoples
Materials Used: Cloth, glass beads, cardboard, leather
Dimensions: 61 cm (24.0 in)
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. James Strain. X92.171

Lines of forces, action, and ase cover the vrow of the diviner; his name, Taye (Taiwo) Bablawo, emblazoned at the top indicates that he was born the younger of twins who came first to taste the world. The beader, realizing that he needed symmetry and balance in the composition, put an extra line of white beas on the right side to create four descending diamonds on both sides, perhaps a reference to the opele (divining chain) that would be carried within the bag.

Source: Drewal, H., Mason, J. (1998). “Beads, Body, and Soul – Art and Light in the Yoruba Universe”, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 230