Woman's Outfit (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
Igbo women weave broadcloth on vertically mounted looms. A plain-weave fabric results from a simple over-one/under-one interlacing of warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) threads. Weavers can create colorful patterns by inserting additional weft threads—in this case, white, red, yellow, and blue. The pattern stands out sharply because the supplementary threads have been passed over more than one warp thread at a time, creating what is called a supplementary weft or “float weave.” The distinctive wraps and shawls that result—names Akwete cloths, after the town in southeastern Nigeria where they are woven—are prized throughout the region.
Gift of A. Thompson Ellwanger, in memory of Dr. and Mrs. George W. Sadler and Henrietta Sadler Kinman
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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