Description
The use of colorful glass beads adds luster to the divination session and underlines the high status diviners enjoy in Yorùbá society. Like kings, diviners derive their authority from the otherworld, òrún. A beaded necklace with two beaded pouches is an accessory carried by the itinerant Yorùbá diviner. Substances sewn into the miniature bags protect the diviner and ensure his power.
Provenance
(Pace Primitive, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1995); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1995–)
Accession Number
1995.23
Medium
Cloth, glass beads, cardboard, cotton, probably wool, and wood
Dimensions
Overall: 49.5 cm (19 1/2 in.); Bag: 21.5 x 19.6 cm (8 7/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
Classification
Implements
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund