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Object Timeline

1950

  • Work on this object began.

1959

  • We acquired this object.

2007

2014

2022

2024

  • You found it!

Textile (Nigeria)

This is a Textile. It is dated ca. 1950 and we acquired it in 1959. Its medium is cotton and its technique is stencil-applied cassava paste resist, indigo dyed. It is a part of the Textiles department.

This pattern adapts souvenir portraits commemorating the Silver Jubilee of England’s King George V and Queen Mary in 1935 by Yoruba women. Through design iterations over time, the royal couple began to lose their European characteristics, often transformed entirely into a Black African royal couple, and English words were replaced with Yoruba as an expression of anti-colonialism.

It is credited Museum purchase from Au Panier Fleuri Fund.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 170 x 164 cm (5 ft. 6 15/16 in. x 5 ft. 4 9/16 in.)

Cite this object as

Textile (Nigeria); cotton; H x W: 170 x 164 cm (5 ft. 6 15/16 in. x 5 ft. 4 9/16 in.); Museum purchase from Au Panier Fleuri Fund; 1959-36-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Duro Olowu Selects.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18425535/ |title=Textile (Nigeria) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>