Beaded Display Vessel

This display vessel was designed to hold kola nuts, an essential part of hosting protocol for elite Yoruba families. Thought to be the work of a master bead artist from the Adeshina compound in Ẹfọ̀n-Alààyè, Ekiti state, Nigeria, it features a complex composition of applied sculptures elaborated with bright, rhythmic beadwork. The dancing women at the summit recall royal and festival processions, whereas those on the base are grounded in the vessel’s context of domestic use. The inclusion of both male and female figures, as well as the varied heights of those figures, has been interpreted as a nuclear family, thereby reinforcing the work’s function within a home. Though distinction in style and embellishment, this beaded display vessel relates to the sculptural compositions of celebrated master wood carver, Ọlọ́wẹ̀ of Ìsẹ, who was born in Ẹfọ̀n-Alààyè and maintained close ties to Adeshina compound of artists.