Factory print cloth may be manufactured in Europe or Asia for the African market or be made in an African factory and sold anywhere. Generally identified with bright colors and bold designs, it assumes a local name and symbolic meaning. One reason for success of factory printed cloth is the widespread practice of dressing alike for special events--weddings, funerals, anniversaries and especially for political events. Another is the quantity of cloth needed to make an outfit. Factory printed cloth is typically sold in 6 yard lots to women for a skirt and top, plus a shawl or head tie. It may be kept uncut as stored wealth.
West Africa has a number of waterfalls, most not well known outside of thier locale. They were a popular subject for colonial era engravings. This cloth may depict Bumbuna Falls in northern Sierra Leone, before it became the site of a large hydroelectric dam.
Description:
Factory printed cloth with a repeating pattern featuring a landscape scene of a waterfall flowing into a rocky river with clusters of palm trees and clouds in the background in dark and light brown dye on an off-white background. Repeat is 60.4 cm (23 3/4 in.).
Provenance:
Lilburn Theurer Senn, Clemson, South Carolina, acquired in Sierra Leone, 1959 to 2002
Exhibition History:
Festival of African American Literature and the Arts, The Brooks Center, Clemson University, South Carolina, September 17-21, 2001
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