Woman’s wrapper cloth (“Prince Sanusi Olusi, Orun Rere” / Prince Sanusi Olusi, Sleep Well)

NameWoman's wrapper cloth

Artist Artist Not Recorded

CultureYoruba

Dateca. 1935

Place madeLagos, Nigeria, Africa

MediumCotton, silk or rayon

Dimensions47 1/16 × 76 3/8 × 1/16 in. (119.5 × 194 × 0.2 cm)

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, gift of Barbarine Rich, A.2018.4.12

Object numberA.2018.4.12

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.

DescriptionWoman’s wrapper made from 10 strips of aso oke (strip woven/horizontal narrowband loom) cloth associated with Yoruba identity. Aso oke is a traditional cloth and garments made from it are appropriate for special occasions, rites of passage, and rituals of state, including coronations and state funerals. Weavers are commonly commissioned to create unique, themed pieces for special events. This is a rare example of aso oke with woven text, inlaid using a supplementary weft float. The text repeats the phrase “Prince Sanusi Olusi, Orun Rere” (Prince Sanusi Olusi, Sleep Well) and the wrapper would have been worn by a mourner at the funeral of Sanusi Olusi, the first Muslim Oba of Lagos who ruled between 1928 and 1931. He died in 1935. The warp-faced garment also includes brocaded patterns of koranic board motifs and warp and weft stripes.