E-ISSN 2281-4612 ISSN 2281-3993 Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies www.richtmann.org Vol 9 No 5 September 2020 67 . Research Article © 2020 Eyitayo Tolulope Ijisakin. This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) Of Beads and Beaded Artistry: A Paradigmatic Study of the Beadworks of David Herbert Dale Eyitayo Tolulope Ijisakin Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria DOI: https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2020-0086 Abstract Beads have played important roles as personal adornment, in the paraphernalia of royalty of African kings, in commerce, religious activities, and traditional medicines among others. Previous studies on beads have focused mainly on its use in antiquity, while scholarships on how visual artists have engaged beads in creating works of art in contemporary times are scanty. This study therefore focuses on the beadworks of David Dale with a view to examining how the artist has ingeniously engaged beads as a means of creative expression. Data for the study were derived from field investigation through oral interviews with David Dale and art connoisseurs. Secondary data were sourced from relevant literature. Forms and stylistic inclinations were used to aid in-depth understanding of the content of the beadworks. Data collected were treated with the descriptive approach of art historical study. The findings of the study revealed that Dale’s beadworks are highly naturalistic, with perfect composition and great varieties of subject matter that focus on the contemporary cosmopolitan genre. The study concludes that beads which have been one of the most significant aspects of sub-Saharan material culture for ages have been ingeniously explored by Dale in creating enthralling works of art. Keywords: Bead, Beadwork, African art, Africa, David Dale, Antiquity, Glassmaking industry, Art history, Material culture 1. Introduction Beads are small, often spherical objects, made of clay, glass, paper, plastic, wood, or other suitable materials. Beads come in different colours, usually perforated for a string to connect one with a lot of others; they are usually used in making pieces of jewellery. Bead is a derivative of the Middle English word, bede, and Old English gebed, which were originally referred to as “a prayer”, prayer beads, or rosaries (Catholic Encyclopedia, 2019). The Yoruba of Nigeria broadly refer to all red beads as iyùn, while the blue beads are called . s. ègì. Other names for beads are ìl. èk. è, kele 1 , . èrìnlà, ikàn, àkún, . s. é. s. éefun, and lágídígba. Beads have been among the most important elements of sub-Saharan material culture 1 Kele is an alternating red and white bead, devoted symbols used by traditional worshipers of Sàngó (Yoruba god of thunder) and Oya, his wife. This underscores the Yoruba maxim “ìl. èk. è po l’oja ki . Sàngó to wo mo kele’’, meaning that despite abundant availability of beads in the market, . Sàngó is very fond of kele with which he has an inseparable connection. The white of kele provides a calming effect on the on the hot temperament of . Sàngó.