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.
The design of this cloth features the coat-of-arms for the British colony of Sierra Leone prior to April 26, 1961 independence. Nine symbols include a market woman, a rice field, the port with ship and crane, the railroad, a pawpaw tree, a cotton field, pineapples, the cocoa bean and the cotton tree.
Description:
Factory print cloth with a purple, blue and white diamond pattern. Central and exterior diamonds contain scenes of agriculture, industry, transportation, birds and a street. Alternating diamonds feature a crest containing a flag, a ship on the ocean and a palm tree. The crest is capped with banners that read "SIERRA LEONE." Repeat size is 53.5 cm (21 1/16 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
Content Statement:
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Image Requests:
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