2014.31.18
Àdìrẹ Cloth with Oloba (Coronation or Jubilee) Design
Artists
Artist Unidentified (Yorùbá)
[
formerly attributed to
Artist Unidentified (Nigerian)];
Title
Àdìrẹ Cloth with Oloba (Coronation or Jubilee) Design
Creation Date
1900-1961
Century
mid-20th century
Dimensions
62 x 72 in. (157.48 x 182.88 cm)
Object Type
textile/natural fiber
Creation Place
West Africa, Nigeria
Medium and Support
cloth, indigo
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
2014.31.18
Yorùbá women in southwest Nigeria are renowned for creating àdìrẹ cloth, or indigo-dyed textiles decorated using resist-dyeing techniques. The earliest examples of àdìrẹ were created on handspun and handwoven cotton cloth, requiring a significant investment of labor. By the early 1900s, the widespread import of European shirting material into West Africa created opportunities for entrepreneurial women to establish the production of àdìrẹ cloth as a cottage industry. This example uses imported green cotton fabric as a base for the stenciled pattern, which is popularly known as the oloba motif. Featuring two royal individuals in a cartouche, these commemorative textiles first emerged in 1935 to honor the silver jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary. Here, a more traditionally attired West African couple occupies the scene, demonstrating how textiles continue to communicate political events and power dynamics among the Yorùbá.
Object Description
Donor's Notes (Transcribed by Curator, Joachim Homann): Adire stenciled on imported green cotton cloth. Design called coronation, jubille or oloba. Date 1962 printed in design of stencil. Design older than that.