Top: 85.6 x 84cm (33 11/16 x 33 1/16in.) Skirt: 111 x 57cm (43 11/16 x 22 7/16in.)
Type:
Textile and Fiber Arts
Geography:
Benin City, Nigeria
Date:
1980s
Label Text:
The Benin court has a long history of assimilating luxury trade goods from neighboring and distant cultures. This Benin-style ensemble, of fancy imported cloth, is embroidered with the Statue of Liberty and its stone pedestal.
Description:
Benin-style women's "George" top and skirt; black with silver supplemental yarn design. The pattern is called "Lady Liberty."
Provenance:
Gift to Dr. Flora Kaplan from Chief A.S. Guobadia, the Aisagbonrioba of Benin, and Dr. Grace Pepple Guobadia, 1985 to 2004
Exhibition History:
TxtStyles: Fashioning Identity, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 11-December 7, 2008
Content Statement:
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