Object Name: Beaded bag
Place of Origin: Nigeria
Cultural Group: Yoruba peoples
Materials Used: Glass beads, cloth, thread, wood
Dimensions: 54 cm (21.2 in)
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. James Strain. X93.32.6a,b

This object combines two important elements of diviners’ regalia: the beaded bag and the most elaborate necklace oredigba. The two items may have been put together later, rather than created as one piece. The complex interlace, subtly changing from blue to white, has a deep black central square framed in bright orange. The necklace-strap has only half the full complement of sixteen sections.

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 231