adire
- Museum number
- Af1971,35.20
- 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 is called BEMI BA WA IRETI IBE or 'where there is life there is hope'. The textile is divided into 52 regular oblongs in rows of eight each filled with one of 7 different designs with variations in the first and fifth row. The designs center around birds, tortoises, geometric, shapes and lettering. The hems are machine sewn and signed by the producer.
- Dimensions
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Length: 196 centimetres
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Width: 176 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 (John Picton Register 1971).
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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
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Picton & Mack 1989:
'Detail of Yoruba adire cloth, Nigeria. Here again the starch has been applied through a metal stencil before dyeing. The pattern is called 'spinning tops.'
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1971
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af1971,35.20
