Currently not on view
Wrapper,
1920s
Igbo artist
2019-26
By the age of twelve, virtually all girls in Akwete, a town on the southern edge of the Igbo speaking area in Nigeria, make the weavings for which the town is famous. Woven on the widest variant of an upright loom and traditionally worn by women on ceremonial occasions, two identically patterned Akwete cloths are “tied,” one at the waist and the other under the arms in a form of dress known as “Up and Down.” This custom continues today and has expanded to include wearing Akwete while attending church and at major Christian festivals.
Information
Title
Wrapper
Dates
1920s
Maker
Igbo artist
Medium
Cotton and dye
Dimensions
195.6 × 127 cm (77 × 50 in.)
with fringe: 212.1 × 127 cm (83 1/2 × 50 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Hugh Leander Adams, Mary Trumbull Adams and Hugh Trumbull Adams Princeton Art Fund, and anonymous gift
Object Number
2019-26
Place Made
Africa, Nigeria, Akwete
Materials
Subject
Unidentified family, presumably by purchase during 1920s colonial service; [Private collection, Edinburgh, Scotland]; [Adire African Textiles, London, UK, by purchase, 2018]; Princeton University Art Museum, by purchase from the above, 2019
