Beaded Basket with Top

Origin: Yoruba Tribe, Nigeria
Composition: glass beads, aso'oke textile

Beads and cowrie shells, historically traded as currency, continue to symbolize wealth and status in Nigeria. Many Yoruba ceremonial objects (such as this incredible container) are adorned with tribal and animal images, and symbolism, all the results of months and often years of meticulous labor. Ceremonial baskets are used to store magical substances and precious beads during rituals. All beads are glass and are stitched on by hand; the textile backing is aso’oke textile, often used for special occasions and for priests and royal clothing.

The word ‘Yoruba’ describes both a language and a tribe living across Nigeria and the Popular Republic of Benin, in an area of forest and savannah. Their origins can be traced back to the end of the first millennium like the civilization of Ife. Following the collapse of the Ife civilization, a number of kingdoms such as the Ijebu and the Oyo emerged. They, in turn, disintegrated during the 18th and 19th centuries, but were revived by the colonial powers at the end of the 19th century and today still form the political structure of the Yoruba people. The enormous scale of the slave trade in Nigeria contributed to the diaspora of the Yoruba people and informed spiritual practices in countries such as Haiti (Passage from Bacquart, Tribal Arts of Africa).