blouse
- Museum number
- 2008,2025.119
- Description
-
Woman's blouse composed of 18 hand plain woven narrow strips hand sewn together selvedge to selvedge. The narrow strips are composed of dyed light and dark blue warps and dyed dark blue wefts. The blouse has two short sleeves with a semi circular neck. The front and back of the blouse are embroidered with the same pattern which consists of a central panel of diamonds embroidered in wool (dyed green, yellow, red pink and white). This panel is flanked by two chains of geometric shapes embroidered in dyed yellow, pink, blue, green and bleached white wool. The neck and shoulders are also embroidered with geometric patterns.
- Production date
- 1973
- Dimensions
-
Length: 48.50 centimetres
-
Width: 101 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- 119 = C178/E156
(Heathcote’s notes)
Woman’s blouse (Rigam Mata). Bought new from Malam Tanko Liman, Zaria City, an old embroiderer, on 16 December 1973. Cloth is local Zaria saki. Took a few days to make in December, cost Naira 3.
Note: “The embroiderer considers this design to be of Zaria origin. The last example he made 40 years ago. It used to be worn with an embroidered zane (see E144, E151). The design is very old, ie the embroidery was being done before the embroiderer began learning it. He said this sort of work was exported to Ghana for Hausas and others. In Zaria it was worn both by Hausa women and by pastoral Fulani women.”
(Heathcote has drawn and named the design elements in his notebook.)
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 2008 (8 September)
- Acquisition notes
- This collection was made over a ten year period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the vendor and collector, Dr David Heathcote, was Head of Art History at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, northern Nigeria. His PhD research focused on the study of Hausa embroidered dress; this collection was formed as a result of his extensive field research.
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- 2008,2025.119
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: C178 (Heathcote collection number)