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Source 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159011
label
Crown (adéńlá)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159011
contentType
object
title
Crown (adéńlá)
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.
date
1900s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60746758
genreSpecific
Garment
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
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.)
cul
Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker
accession
1995.22
Source extras
tec
Cloth (probably cotton and wool), glass beads, reeds, cardboard, wood, plant fiber, cotton, and quills
tombstone
Crown (adéńlá), 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker. Cloth (probably cotton and wool), glass beads, reeds, cardboard, wood, plant fiber, cotton, and quills; 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.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund, 1995.22
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
No one––not even the king who wears it––is allowed to look inside this crown, as that's where it is most powerful.
citations
citation
Petridis, Constantijn. <em>South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. </em>Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003.
page_number
Reproduced: cat. 24, p. 78 - 79
citation
“A Walking Tour: The entire new museum wing by wing, with curators calling out a few favorite works in the collection.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 54, no. 1 (January/February 2014): 8-33.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: p.12
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 14
citation
Smith, Fred T., Judith Perani, Joseph L. Underwood, and Martha J. Ehrlich. The Visual Arts of Africa : Gender, Power, and Life Cycle Rituals. Second edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 158-159, no. 6.4
creditline
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:13:54.780000
sourceId
159011
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Cloth (probably cotton and wool), glass beads, reeds, cardboard, wood, plant fiber, cotton, and quills
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
09c3419c9bb962ca