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Textile

Textile

  • Place of origin:

    Nigeria (made)

  • Date:

    1960-1967 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Indigo-dyed and starch-resist.

  • Museum number:

    CIRC.757-1967

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

This is an example of adire, an indigo resist dyed cloth made by the Yoruba people of south-western Nigeria. Resist-dyeing involves treating certain areas of the cloth with a ‘resist’ to prevent them absorbing the dye. When starch is used as the resist these cloths are known as adire eleko. The base cloth has a pattern of green and white stripes which can be clearly seen in the areas where the starch has been applied.

This pattern is known as Olokun, ‘goddess of the sea’. The goddess is also associated with wealth. The cloth is divided into four rows of five squares with a series of smaller rectangles around the edge which are then filled in with a variety of patterns.

Physical description

Indigo-dyed with a starch resist over a green and white printed cotton. Two pieces sewn together to make a shape that is roughly square. The cloth is divided into squares which are filled with a variety of patterns, this design is known as 'Olokun'.

Place of Origin

Nigeria (made)

Date

1960-1967 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown

Materials and Techniques

Indigo-dyed and starch-resist.

Dimensions

Length: 63 in, Width: 76 in

Descriptive line

Indigo-dyed and starch-resist cloth, Nigeria, 1960-1967

Materials

Indigo; Cotton

Techniques

Resist dyeing

Categories

Textiles; Africa

Collection

Textiles and Fashion Collection

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