adire
- Museum number
- Af1971,35.16
- Description
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Adire cloth: 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
-
- Curator's comments
- Part of the collection made by Jane Barbour of Adire, indigo resist-dyed cloths, made by the Yoruba in Nigeria (see Af1971,35.1).
Ibadan Dun, again (cf Af1971,35.15), purchased in Oje market, Ibadan, in May 1971. Jane Barbour says 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; this one has four; and the previous only three. She also regards Af1971,35.15 as ‘much devolved’.
John Picton comment: 'However, much greater care is shown in the execution of the painting on that cloth than on this one.'
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1971
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af1971,35.16
