Admission is Free | Open Wed–Sun
Object Name: Beaded necklace
Place of Origin: Nigeria
Cultural Group: Yoruba peoples
Materials Used: Glass beads, cloth, thread, wood, plant fiber
Date: 19th century
Dimensions: 112 cm (44.0 in)
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Hammer. X93.31.1
This appears to be a variant of the diviner’s odigba necklace. The two miniature pouches have been replaced by massive strands of blue (segi), black, red, and multicolor beads. Most are loose at the ends but two multistrand clusters of red beads terminate in bisected globular beads at the ends of two cylindrical blue beads.
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 236