Arkilla jenngo
Textile
20th century (made)
20th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Large strip-woven domestic textile called an arkilla - meaning 'mosquito net' in Arabic. Arkillas are usually made as a gift for a bride, displayed at the wedding as a symbol of marriage, before being used as a bed-hanging or cover. Arkilla are hand-woven by male Fulani weavers known as maabuuɓe, and can be subcategorised according to the technique used and their intended owner. All arkillas, however, contain a blend of wool and cotton fibres, and incorporate indigo thread within their design. This particular arkilla is an arkilla jenngo, woven in the Lake Faguibine area of modern day Mali for a Tuareg customer. Arkilla jenngo are recognisable for their chequerboard design with tapestry-woven patterns produced across 12 or 14 narrow strips. They are the only type of arkilla produced on a cotton loom, containing 75% cotton (including the warp), and 25% dyed wool.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Arkilla jenngo (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Woven wool and cotton |
| Brief description | Textile, woven wool and cotton, West Africa, probably Mali, mid 20th century |
| Physical description | Textile of wool and cotton, hand-woven in narrow strips and hand-stitched together to form one continuous length. Chequerboard pattern in indigo and undyed cotton. |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Miss Mary Kirby |
| Object history | This cloth hails from the Miss Mary Kirby bequest, a significant donation of global textiles acquired by the museum in 1964. Of the 70 textiles included in the acquisition, 28 were produced or sold in West Africa. Miss Kirby was a passionate textiles teacher, author, and collector. She taught weaving at the Central School, London, and in the 1950s spent many years in Ghana teaching textiles at the Kumasi College of Technology. Correspondence within the acquisition's Registered File indicate that she collected the textiles as educational aids. |
| Summary | Large strip-woven domestic textile called an arkilla - meaning 'mosquito net' in Arabic. Arkillas are usually made as a gift for a bride, displayed at the wedding as a symbol of marriage, before being used as a bed-hanging or cover. Arkilla are hand-woven by male Fulani weavers known as maabuuɓe, and can be subcategorised according to the technique used and their intended owner. All arkillas, however, contain a blend of wool and cotton fibres, and incorporate indigo thread within their design. This particular arkilla is an arkilla jenngo, woven in the Lake Faguibine area of modern day Mali for a Tuareg customer. Arkilla jenngo are recognisable for their chequerboard design with tapestry-woven patterns produced across 12 or 14 narrow strips. They are the only type of arkilla produced on a cotton loom, containing 75% cotton (including the warp), and 25% dyed wool. |
| Bibliographic reference | Gardi, Bernhard. 2021. Arkilla, Kaasa, and Nsaa: The Many Influences of Wool Textiles from the Niger Bend in West Africa. The Textile Museum Journal. Washington D.C. The George Washington University Museum. Vol. 48. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.315-1964 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
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