Eastern Nigerian Dress

• Title Eastern Nigerian Dress
• Category Textile
• Medium Textile
• Notes This is a typical Eastern Nigerian women's dress made of hand-woven Akwete cloth. The dress consists of three pieces, a top, ankle length wrap around skirt, and a shawl. The dress is a variety of colors, including black, yellow, blue and red. We see the typical geometric repetitive patterns that come from Igbo cloth. The cloth is woven in the village of Akwete by women*. The looms used to create these cloths are often crude and made of rough poles. The frame loom stands upright and has a continuous warp. Akwete cloth can be up to 150 centimeters wide or wider, which is accommodated for by the loom. An Akwete woman is estimated to produce from two to four cloths in a month. Similarities in motifs come from Akwete women’s ability and familiarity with copying from prototypes. These types of cloth were widespread, primarily among the Rivers State communities, due to the large amount of trade occurring in this region. *Lisa Aronson, “Patronage and Akwete Weaving.” (African arts, vol.13, no. 3, 1980), 62-91.
• Artist Igbo People Nigerian
• Credit Clyde and Annie Matters Collection
• Location Library Art Storage L1
• Accession Number 1994.0026
• Status Available Request this art work
  
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