Kalabari women use the distinctive decorative method of removing threads to form new patterns on commercially woven cloth. Historically, the Kalabari people were traders and fishermen, not weavers; for the past 150 years, this cutwork technique has allowed the Kalabari to make imported goods uniquely theirs.
Description:
Plain weave dyed cotton wrapper with repeated geometric patterns within diamonds in rectangular and diamond shapes.
Provenance:
Mme. Enweri Isowri (d. between 1945 and 1966), Tombia, Nigeria
Mme. Bene Igoji, daughter of the cutter, Tombia, Nigeria, 1945-1966 to 1983
Dr. Joanne Eicher, St. Paul, 1983
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