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Artwork Details
73 x 46 x 1 in.
Accession NumberMr. and Mrs. Richard Crane Fund
CopyrightProbably sold by Yoruba people of Nigeria in 1980s. Alhagi Marie Jawara, Bronx, New York, in 2001; (Douglas Dawson, Chicago);{1} purchased by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2006 (2006.116) {1} For the provenance of the robe, see correspondence from Douglas Dawson dated 29 December 2006 in IMA Historical File 2006.116.
No other culture has employed beads to greater effect than the Yoruba of Nigeria. Beads were signs of wealth and status, and many Yoruba sacred and secular beaded objects were made-to-order by artisans who specialized in beadwork. Made from luxurious imported velvet fabrics, the robe is adorned with 16 beaded faces on the front and back and two on the shoulders. The abstract faces that appear on Yoruba royal and religious regalia are thought to be visual references to ancestors of all Yoruba kings.
Twenty beaded talismanic “knots,” 10 each on the front and back in the central panel, and one inside the large red face on the back of the neck, provide protection for the king. The large sleeves of the robe are decorated with zigzag patterns, motifs that are associated with Shango, a royal ancestor of the Yoruba, and god of thunder whose power is evident in thunder and lightning.
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