Artwork Page for Crown (adéńlá)

Details / Information for Crown (adéńlá)

Crown (adéńlá)

1900s

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker

Medium
Cloth (probably cotton and wool), glass beads, reeds, cardboard, wood, plant fiber, cotton, and quills
Measurements
Diameter: 26.8 cm (10 9/16 in.); Overall: 105.9 cm (41 11/16 in.); Cone: 35.1 cm (13 13/16 in.); Fringe: 55.3 cm (21 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1995.22
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

No one––not even the king who wears it––is allowed to look inside this crown, as that's where it is most powerful.

Description

The most important of all regalia, topped with the "royal bird" Okin, this headdress connects the king to Oduduwa, the mythical founder of the Yoruba. The veil of beaded strings masks the identity of the wearer and protects his subjects from the supernatural powers that radiate from his face. The crown also signifies the "inner head" of the king, the locus of an awesome life force called ase.
Glass beads in red, blue, and yellow encrust a tall, conical cloth crown. At the peak stands a beaded bird with a white quill beak, facing our right. Below, a stylized face with large white circular eyes and a raised nose sits atop geometric patterns of diamonds and triangles. From the circular base, long strands of multicolored beads hang down in a dense veil, reaching far below the structured headpiece.

Crown (adéńlá)

1900s

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker

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