Cap (fìlà abéti ajá ìlẹ̀kẹ̀),

late 19th century

The intricate beaded designs on this fìlà abetí ajá, meaning “dog-eared hat” after the shape of the flaps that cover the wearer’s ears, suggest that it was worn by a high-ranking diviner (an expert who harnessed natural and spiritual resources on behalf of the community). The imagery refers to the forces and òrìṣàs (Yorùbá deities) called upon during Ifá, the indigenous Yorùbá practice of divination. Èṣù, the god who mediates between this world and the next, is evoked by a three-dimensional face. The fish-legged figure above refers to Olókun, the god of the sea and patron of bead artists, whose materials—glass beads—metaphorically come from the sea. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, glass seed beads produced in Murano, Venice, entered present-day Nigeria through trade networks as a form of currency and markers of wealth and status.