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.
- The design on this cloth includes a "Bullom boat," a Portuguese influenced type of local boat used by the Bullom peoples and an foreign ocean vessel. Freetown harbor is one of the world's largest.
- Description
- Factory printed cloth with a central scene of a Bullom boat and an island with a house and palm trees. A large steamboat appears in the distance. The top and bottom borders feature palm trees. The print consists of yellow, blue, dark brown and tan on an off-white background.
- Provenance
- Lilburn Theurer Senn, Clemson, South Carolina, acquired in Sierra Leone, 1959 to 2002
- Exhibition History
- Festival of African American Literature and the Arts, The Brooks Center, Clemson University, South Carolina, September 17-21, 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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: 120.5 x 96.7 cm (47 7/16 x 38 1/16 in.)
- Type
- Textile and Fiber Arts
