Description:

Yoruba headdresses are elaborately decorated by hand-sewn glass beads. The ruler or Oba’s crown is considered one of the most important signifiers of the Oba’s position. Often the crown has a beaded veil that obscures the view of the Oba’s face, to downplay their individual identity and affirm their role as divine rulers connecting the physical world to the spiritual. The crown also signifies the wearer's royal lineage believed to go back to Odudua, the mythical founder of the sixteen original Yoruba kingdoms. The crown is decorated with geometric patterns ranging from birds to faces of past and present kings. The birds are believed to signify the king’s ability to mediate between the physical and spiritual realms.