“Bida Cloth” (woman’s weave)

NameWoman’s wrapper cloth

Artist Artist Not Recorded

CultureNupa

Dateca. 1960s

Place madeBorno, Nigeria, Africa

MediumCotton, silk or rayon

Dimensions81 11/16 × 53 9/16 × 1/8 in. (207.5 × 136 × 0.3 cm)

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, gift of Barbarine Rich, A.2018.4.10

Object numberA.2018.4.10

ProvenanceThese textiles were sourced by Dr. Duncan Clarke, who earned his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, specializing in aso oke (Nigerian strip weaving). He published a number of books on West African textiles and works as a high-end dealer in London. The donor purchased the textiles from Dr. Clarke. She began selectively collecting textiles many years ago and intended to launch her own private textile museum in a house beside the Wheelwright Museum on Museum Hill in Santa Fe. These plans were stalled and more recently abandoned when her young daughter was discovered to be terminally ill; she began to divest her large textile holdings.

DescriptionA woman’s wrapper cloth composed of two mirror-image webs joined selvedge to selvedge. The design features thin warp stripes flanked by wide brocaded sections. The brocade patterns are created using supplementary weft inlays, showcasing rows of stylized figurative motifs separated by horizontal stripes and decorative openings with diagonal carryover threads. One end is adorned with characteristic yellow machine embroidery, which also serves to demarcate the striped central panel from the two brocaded borders. Additionally, two embroidered proverbs embellish the ends, one reading: “Hakuri Maganin Duniya” — “Patience is the cure of the world.” This wrapper is notable for its dense and diverse motifs combined with decorative holes, suggesting it was reserved for special occasions.