Yoruban Aso Oke with Alaari and Ikat - ca. 1970

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Ancient | Asian | Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

May 9, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-05-09 10:00:00 2019-05-09 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Ancient | Asian | Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-asian-ethnographic-4110
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• Lot Description
  West Africa, Nigeria, Yoruba, ca. 1970. An aso oke (meaning top cloth to denote elite status of the wearer) finely woven from hand spun fuschia silk called Alaari as well as cotton fibers colored with vegetable dyes. The pattern, displayed on both sides due to the ikat process (see more on this below), presents striated passages of varying thicknesses and colors - deep indigo, sky blue, forest green, black, beige, and the fuschia pinks and magenta reds of Alaari. A lovely example with very little blurriness to the design which attests to the immense skill of the weaver. Size: 83" L x 26.5" W (210.8 cm x 67.3 cm)
  
  Yoruba aso oke weavers were among only a few weaving groups in West Africa to use the ikat technique, and most examples display a simple alternation of colors within a warp stripe. Usually woven by men, fabric like this was traditionally used to make men's garments known as agbada, women's wraps known as iro, and men's hats known as fila.
  
  Ikat is a technique of dyeing in order to create patterned textiles. The yarns are resist dyed before the fabric is woven. The resist is achieved by binding individual yarns or sometimes bundles of yarns with a tight wrapping that is applied in the desired pattern. Interestingly, the word ikat means "to bind" in the Indonesian language. Once this is done, the yarns are dyed. Oftentimes, the bindings are altered to create a new pattern and the yarns are dyed yet again with another color. This process may be repeated many times to create elaborate, colorful patterns. Once the dyeing is complete, the bindings are removed and the yarns are woven into cloth. In contrast, for other resist-dyeing techniques such as tie-dye and batik, the resist is applied to the woven cloth rather than the yarns before they are woven into cloth. Since the surface design is imbued in the yarns rather than the finished cloth, both fabric faces display beautiful patterns in ikat works like this example.
  
  Provenance: private Poos collection, Overland Park, Kansas, USA; purchased in Nigeria in 2018 - One of the largest privately held quilt and textile collections in the world, the Poos Collection has evolved over 50 years and through extensive travels to allow for original or point of source acquisition. The collection includes international textiles and garments with an emphasis on West African textiles such as adire, aso oke, kente, and ewe woven prestige cloths.
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #145216

  Condition

  Some fraying and loss to peripheries as shown, but otherwise excellent with vivid ikat designs and strong hues including the coveted wine reds of alaari.
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