The cloth was woven by an [Igbo] woman in Akwete, Nigeria, using a womenās vertical loom with a continuous warp [this design is known as ikaki bite, tortoise cloth, and is mainly ordered by coastal Ijo-speaking people from whom it gets its name, the motif is based on the oni, crocodile, pattern on Ijebu-Ode aso olona traded textiles and this may have been due to Akwete weavers conforming to the tastes of their main customers]. It consists largely of cotton, the most commonly used material in Akwete weavings, and is decorated with rayon supplementary weft patterning, which is a distinguishing feature of [Igbo] Akwete weaving. While all cotton used in Akwete weaving was once hand spun and hand dyed by women, today imported dyed yarns are more common, as reflected in this cloth. Cloths like this were mainly worn by [Igbo] women as wrappers.
Akwete weaving is a form of textile production not practiced elsewhere in Africa. During the mid 1900s, weaving in Akwete shifted from being a part-time occupation for some women to being a full time occupation for the majority of women. Consequently, girls are taught how to weave Akwete cloths like this from a very young age.
This hand-woven cloth is part of a collection of West African textiles, spindles, hand spun yarn and a thorn carving, collected by Dr C. Marion Petrie. Dr Petrie was an employee of the British Colonial Service in Nigeria and Ghana, in West Africa, between 1957 and 1966.
According to Mrs Moore [daughter of Dr Petrie], verified by a receipt in her possession, her mother bought all three Akwete cloths in this collection "from a department store in Eastern Nigeria, not long before she finally left Nigeria in 1966".
