Yoruba Bead Sculpture - Osogbo Region, Nigeria. The multi-part sculpture unfolds as a dense ensemble of glass beads, textile, and a supporting core. A group of anthropomorphic figures rises from a cylindrical base completely covered in green beads, surrounding an animal also adorned with beads. The figures have tall heads and wear elongated garments; their faces are constructed from concentric fields of red, white, green, and yellow beads. A large, frontal face emerges from the base. Thousands of colored beads transform the body and surface into a vibrant tapestry of color, light, and pattern. The work is part of the distinctive bead art tradition of the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria. Elaborate beadwork is well-documented in the Osogbo region as an integral part of courtly and sacred representation. An adénlá attributed to the Metropolitan Museum of the Osogbo region illustrates the close connection between bead art, royalty, and spiritual authority. Frontal faces and three-dimensional human and animal figures also appear on royal beaded crowns and other insignia. However, the present free-standing, narrative composition is unusual. Literature (selection): Robert F. Thompson: Black Gods and Kings. Bloomington 1971. Henry J. Drewal / John Pemberton III / Rowland Abiodun: Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought. New York 1989. John Pemberton III (ed.): Yoruba: Art and Aesthetics. Zurich 1991. Inv. No. MAZ26343 Informant: Amadou Dogo