adire
- Museum number
- Af1971,35.16
- Description
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Adire textile: woman's: composed of two even lengths of machine plain woven European cotton machine sewn together. The textile is decorated using the starch resist method. The producer has applied the starch by hand before dyeing the textile indigo. The textile has been divided into a 52 piece grid decorated with 20 different patterns including representations of animals and flowers and decorative patterns. One pattern is repeated four times, and five repeated twice. 15 of these patterns are the same as those on AF1971, 35. 15. This textile has the Mapo Hall design composing of four spoons meaning that it is an average quality Adire cloth. The overall design is 'Ibadun dun' (Ibadun is sweet (pleasant)). The hem is machine sewn. The signature of the producer can be found on the back of the textile on each hem.
- Dimensions
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Length: 199 centimetres
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Width: 175.50 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
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Part of the AF1971, 35. 1- 27 collection of ADIRE (indigo resist-dyed cloths made by the ) YORUBA, NIGERIA. The cloth used today is imported white cotton. Two pieces roughly a yard (approx 92cm) wide are sewn together to make a large square cloth and the patterns are applied either by tying and stitching with strands of raffia or painting freehand or stencilling with cassava paste: either method resists the dye. Each pattern has one or more individual names.
The vendor says that the quality of the cloth is judged by the number of spoons and pillars in the square representing Mapo Hall; the more spoons the better. The best cloths have five spoons, average quality cloths have four spoons and poorer quality cloths ('for the tourists') have three spoons.
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For further information on Adire cloths please consult; Barbour and Simmonds, 1971. "Adire Cloth in Nigeria" Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan: Ibadan
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1971
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af1971,35.16
