Tunic
<p>The Yoruba appreciate the color variations and sparkling surfaces of beads, as well as the way that they can be combined into dazzling patterns. Beads contain <em>àse</em> (animating force) and become further imbued with it when worn. Today titled Yoruba men wear beaded regalia as an expression of power, status, and divine sanction. This tunic’s imagery refers to power and domination. Two male figures flank the front opening, while on the back a coiled snake sits beneath another male figure, possibly holding a shield. Around these motifs and on the sides and arms are geometric patterns. [See also 2009.581].</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1900
- Dimensions
- Full with and length with all beads extended while in box: 94.7 × 125.8 × 9.6 cm (37 1/4 × 49 1/2 × 3 3/4 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Yoruba
Artist
Textile
Yoruba is an Atlantic–Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. Yoruba speakers number roughly 50 million, including around 2 million second-language or L2 speakers. As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria, Benin, and Togo with smaller migrated communities in Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia.
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Record
Verified by WattsOSSource
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified