Object Details
- Label Text
- Factory print cloth may be manufactured in Europe or Asia for the African market or be made in an African factory and sold anywhere. Generally identified with bright colors and bold designs, it assumes a local name and symbolic meaning. One reason for success of factory printed cloth is the widespread practice of dressing alike for special events ~ weddings, funerals, anniversaries and especially for political events. Another is the quantity of cloth needed to make an outfit. Factory printed cloth is typically sold in 6 yard lots to women for a skirt and top, plus a shawl or head tie. It may be kept uncut as stored wealth.
- This cloth has a shooting star logo plus the name MODAFRIC along the edge, along with "GRAND TEINT" which means colorfast.
- Description
- Factory printed cloth with a repeating pattern of dark blue silhouettes of palm trees and huts on a medium blue background. The silhouettes of the trees and huts are reflected. Top selvage has "MODAFRIC" shooting star logo followed by the words "GRAND TEINT." Repeat size is 52.5 cm (20 3/4 in.).
- Provenance
- Lilburn Theurer Senn, Clemson, South Carolina, acquired in Sierra Leone, 1959 to 2002
- Exhibition History
- Currents: Water in African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 2016-ongoing (deinstalled January 2019)
- "Festival of African American Literature and the Arts, " the Brooks Center, Clemson University, South Carolina, 9/17- 9/21/2001
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Undetermined artist
- Date
- ca. 1959
- Credit Line
- Gift of Donald A. Theuer and Lilburne Theuer Senn
- Medium
- Cotton, dye
- Dimensions
- H x W: 115 x 91.5 cm (45 1/4 x 36 in.)
- Type
- Textile and Fiber Arts
