Yoruba Beaded Chair

These intricately beaded chairs were originally created to be thrones for Yoruba kings and queens, and their direct ascendents. Now they are created for commercial purposes but still applying the complicated, three dimensional beadwork which is a trade secret passed on through family. Yoruba artists are known for their beautiful bead-work, including garments, fly whisks, staffs and thrones. Historically, this has been a male-dominated craft.

The artist composed a design of vines with leaves, flowers, birds, elephants, lions, and geometric shapes. They used black beads as the background, and decorated it with green, yellow, and red beads. The beads are secured to a cotton lined wooden frame.