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Preview image of work. cotton, thread, indigo dye,  Àdìrẹ Eleso Cloth 28301

2014.31.19

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Àdìrẹ Eleso Cloth

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Artists

Artist Unidentified (Yorùbá) [formerly attributed to Artist Unidentified (Nigerian)];

Title

Àdìrẹ Eleso Cloth

Creation Date

1900-1961

Century

20th century

Dimensions

64 x 71 in. (162.56 x 180.34 cm)

Object Type

textile/natural fiber

Creation Place

West Africa, Nigeria

Medium and Support

cotton, thread, indigo dye

Credit Line

Gift of Dorothy A. Hassfeld made in memory of the Otun Shoun, Chief N.D. Oyerinde, OBE

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2014.31.19

Yorùbá women have created àdìrẹ (Yoruba for “tie and dye”) for at least two hundred years. These indigo-dyed textiles were embellished with various resist-dye techniques, including the two seen in this example, known as oniko and eleko. In the former, artists tie raffia around individual pebbles, shells, beans, or seeds to create small white circles. Here, the dyer has used oniko to create undulating, zig-zagging, or spiraling lines of miniscule crescent shapes in alternating squares. In the other blocks, the dyer painted cassava paste onto the fabric to create a pattern, possibly with the aid of a metal stencil. Although Yorùbá textile traditions continue to evolve, indigo dyeing has been practiced for at least seven centuries in Nigeria, which is home to some of the oldest indigo dye pits in the world.

Object Description

Donor's Notes (Transcribed by Curator, Joachim Homann): Raffia threads emaining in fabric. Complex design on imprinted white fabric.

Additional Media

Additional Image overall
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