Yoruba Bante (Or Apron) Orisa Oko

A small beaded face between two white crescents, looking straight at you.

This bante, or apron, for Orisa Oko is Yoruba, from Nigeria in West Africa, and dates to the mid 20th century. It is cloth with glass beads. Yoruba priests and devotees wear beaded panels to honor the orisa they serve, and Orisa Oko is widely associated with farming and the harvest. A figure with a black cap and yellow face wears a wide olive garment over blue, white and green shapes. Red and white triangles form a border around it. Eighteen inches long and 17 wide.

The gaze has not shifted.