Although this robe appears plain, it was intended as a display of wealth and status. Skilled craftsmen, laboring intensively, spun thread that was handwoven into narrow strips of cloth that were then sewn together by hand. A Koranic scholar and calligrapher created and laid out a pattern that often took one or two men several months to embroider.
The embroidery tradition in northern Nigeria dates back to the 15th century. Today, it incorporates designs from many sources, such as Islamic calligraphy and embroidery from the Yoruba and Nupe peoples to the south. Each motif has a name, which may vary from one region to another. The triangular shapes, referred to as knives, are the most common motif. The small isolated rectangle with a handle projecting from its top represents a Koranic prayer board, a wooden tablet on which verses from the Koran are copied.
Description:
Man's robe of homespun, unbleached cotton in a narrow band weave approximately three quarters of an inch wide, with extensive beige colored embroidery with openwork eyelet patterns on the front and back near the neck.
Provenance:
Honorable Joseph Palmer II, Bethesda, Maryland, -- to 1978
Exhibition History:
BIG/small, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 17-July 23, 2006
Fabrics of Africa, Textile Museum, Washington, D.C., September 15, 1988-February 15, 1989
History, Context, Materials: Selections from the Permanent Collection of the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 12, 1985-January 5, 1986
African Emblems of Status, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 29, 1982-April 3, 1983
Published References:
Park, Edwards. 1983. Treasures of the Smithsonian. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, p. 386.
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