Prestige robe (riga)
Unknown Artist
late 1800s–by 1910
Medium
Cotton, silk, and indigo
Dimensions
120 × 226 cm
Classification
Garment
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Alma Kroeger Fund
Accession Number
2013.6
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Elite Nigerian men wore voluminous status garments variously called riga (Hausa), agbádá (Yorùbá), boubou (French), or mbubb (Wolof). Punctuated with white silk, this strip-woven riga’s inky blue was achieved by repeatedly dipping threads into indigo dye before weaving them. Embroiderers were often skilled Arabic calligraphers; the motifs here once had protective Islamic symbolism. The front pocket features the pointed “eight knives” (aska takwas) and a leaf (gambiya) associated with the Nupe pe...