Wrapper
Women's weaving cooperative in Akwete Nigerian
Ndoki-Igbo artist
Not on view
This wrapper has been hand-woven on the traditional Igbo Akwete woman’s vertical loom with machine-spun cotton, Lurex, and other fibers. As is usual on Akwete cloths, the design motifs in this example are created by a supplementary weft structure on a warp-face plain-weave ground. The solid pink and purple striped areas alternate and the addition of an checkerboard design of supplementary weft patterns in both areas, create the effect of individually woven narrow bands of fabric.
This work represents a classic textile genre designed, woven, and worn by Igbo women in one of Nigeria's premier centers for textile weaving. Textiles are one of the preeminent forms of visual expression in sub-Saharan Africa, and Akwete weavers have had an important impact on the region at large. Their frequently elaborate and complex supplementary weft-float patterns are of particular interest for their variety, incorporating abstract geometric and figurative motifs.
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