See more objects with the color sienna darkslategrey darkolivegreen darkslategrey darkgoldenrod or see all the colors for this object.
Object Timeline
|
1969 |
|
|
2013 |
|
|
2015 |
|
|
2024 |
|
Woman's Head Wrap (Nigeria)
This is a Woman's head wrap. It is dated early to mid-20th century and we acquired it in 1969. Its medium is cotton and its technique is hand-loomed warp-faced plain weave, supplementary weft patterning. It is a part of the Textiles department.
A married woman must wear a head wrap, or gèlè, in order for her to feel fully and properly dressed. The manner in which she wraps her gèlè is a personal creative expression. With each wearing, the seven-foot length of cloth is folded, pleated, pinched, tucked, and spread into a new form. Because the inner head is seen as the center of individuality and spirituality, a beautifully adorned head honors the sacred self.[1] This hand-woven cotton cloth has enough body and stiffness to create dramatic sculptural forms.
[1] Mary Jo Arnoldi, "Headdresses and Hairdos," in Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion Vol. 1: Africa, edited by Joanne B. Eicher and Doran Ross (Oxford: Berg, 2011).
This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled Yoruba Complete.
This object was
donated by
Mrs. Calvin W. Stillman.
It is credited Gift of Mrs Calvin W. Stillman.
- Turban Fabric (India)
- cotton.
- 1973-79-1
- Tzute (man's Head Cloth) (Guatemala)
- cotton, rayon.
- Gift of International Business Machines Corp..
- 1960-88-2
- Woman's Head Wrap (Nigeria)
- cotton, rayon.
- Gift of Mrs Calvin W. Stillman.
- 1969-11-6
Our curators have highlighted 7 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:
- Woman's Head Wrap (Nigeria)
- cotton, silk or rayon (?).
- Gift of Mrs Calvin W. Stillman.
- 1969-11-7
- Turban Band, Turban Band
- wool weft.
- Museum purchase through gift of Agnes M. O'Donnell.
- 1951-132-3-a/d
- Baby Carrier (Nigeria)
- cotton.
- 1961-25-1
Its dimensions are
H x W: 256.5 × 60.3 cm (8 ft. 5 in. × 23 3/4 in.)
Cite this object as
Woman's Head Wrap (Nigeria); cotton; H x W: 256.5 × 60.3 cm (8 ft. 5 in. × 23 3/4 in.); Gift of Mrs Calvin W. Stillman; 1969-11-5
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition David Adjaye Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection.
