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Beaded Display Vessel

mid-20th century
Not on view
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Beaded Display Vessel
  • Artist: Adeṣina compound sculptor and bead artist (?)
  • Date: mid-20th century
  • Geography: Nigeria, Ekiti state, Ẹfọ̀n-Alààyè
  • Culture: Yoruba peoples
  • Medium: Cloth, beads
  • Dimensions: H. 28 in. (71.1 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Beadwork
  • Credit Line: Gift of Carol B. Kenney, in memory of Jerome P. Kenney, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.807.2a, b
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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