Object Details
- Label Text
- Ordinary commercially woven cloth is transformed by hand dying with localy made indigo dye. To create the elaborate patterns of adire the artist blocks the dye from reaching the surface of the cloth. This is done by painting or stenciling with a starch such as cassava paste, or by tying or sewing knots and seams. This pattern is called pele onika, or scarification and fingers, a reference to identifying ethnic marks. An old pattern that was revived, it is made by rolling over and handstitching the narrow folds of the cloth.
- Adire was first produced in quantity in the late nineteenth century, with production dwindling by World War II. The 1960s saw a revived interest in adire with new patterns, and new uses superceeding the original use as women's wrappers. Fold and die cloths were popular in the mid-1960s, when they were made into shirts for men and dresses for women.
- Description
- Wrapper composed of a cloth panel with fold and indigo dye design of six rows of three squares with three alternating patterns: a cross form, rows of = marks and rows of chicken feet-like marks.
- Provenance
- Jane Barbour, acquired Ibadan, Nigeria, 1969 to 1996
- Exhibition History
- Adire: Resist-Dyed Cloths of the Yoruba, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., April 16-August 17, 1997
- Published References
- National Museum of African Art. 1997. Adire: Resist-Dyed Cloths of the Yoruba. Exhibition brochure. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, no. 5.
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Yoruba artist
- Date
- Mid-20th century
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase
- Medium
- Cloth, indigo dye
- Dimensions
- H x W: 178 x 85 cm (70 1/16 x 33 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Textile and Fiber Arts
