gown; babba riga

Densely embroidered Hausa indigo strip weave gown (babba riga) from Kano, made before 1930. The gown is constructed from 7cm wide stirps of woven fabric made on a double-heddle portable loom (or horizontal frame treadle loom), with indigo dyed weft and un-dyed warp. It is hand embroidered in whtie cotton, forming dense geometric shapes. The bottom seam is lined with a length of pink strip-weave cotton with black diagonal stripes.

Collection Information

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