Sotiba in Dakar, Senegal made several versions of this fancy print cotton textile with photographic engraving of Malcolm X--some with gold, some without. It has been suggested that since the gold turns black when worn in Senegal's hot, humid climate (the wearer sweats), this version was intended for the foreign market. However since cloth was often bought to save--rather like an insurance policy or a long term savings certificate--rather than to be cut up and worn, this may not be entirely true.
Description:
Factory printed cloth with a gold metallic and red geometric pattern. Top and bottom selvages feature photographic engravings of portraits of Malcolm X on a yellow background. Selvages read "Sotiba Textiles Dakar Senegal." Repeat size is 15.4 cm (6 1/16 in.).
Provenance:
Wil and Irene Petty, Silver Springs, Maryland, -- to 2008
Exhibition History:
Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue - From the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, November 7, 2014-January 24, 2016 (installed June 30, 2015)
Published References:
Kreamer, Christine Mullen and Adrienne L. Childs (eds). 2014. Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue from the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 162-163, 183, no. 92, pl. 91.
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