The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Prestige robe (riga)

Prestige robe (riga)

late 1800s–by 1910
Cotton, silk, and indigo
Overall: 120 x 226 cm (47 1/4 x 89 in.)
Alma Kroeger Fund 2013.6
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Its owner's movements would have revealed a flash of magenta silk (an expensive trade good) along the hem of this riga, emphasizing his high status.

Description

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 peoples. At back, a spiral leads the wearer toward God. Magenta silk imported via trans-Saharan routes lines the hem. Rigan historically held transcultural appeal; today, they are pan-Nigerian male national dress.
  • possibly from Julius August Konietzko [1886–1952], Hamburg, Germany
    by at least 1910
    Emil Maetzel, [1877–1955], Hamburg, Germany
    March 13, 2012
    (Zemanek-Münster, Wurzburg, Germany, March 13, 2012, Lot 99, sold to Kevin Conru, London or Brussels)
    c. 2012–2013
    Alan Marcuson, Brussels, Belgium
    2013
    (Andres Moraga San Francisco Tribal, Berkeley, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2013–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 This hypothesis is based upon Maetzel obtaining most of his collection via Konietzko
    2 Depicted wearing the garment in 1910 and 1926 photographs; auction house record:   https://www.auction.fr/_en/lot/mens-vestment-nigeria-nupe-3393435 
    3 Acquisition paperwork, CMA object file
    4 Acquisition paperwork, CMA object file
    5 Acquisition paperwork, CMA object file
  • Green, James, et al. Bámigbóyè : A Master Sculptor of the Yorùbá Tradition. Yale University Art Gallery, 2022. p. 55-56.
    Picton, John, and John Mack. African Textiles. London: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Publications, 1989. p. 192 illus
    Gillow, John. African Textiles: Colour and Creativity Across a Continent. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003. p. 100-103
    Green, James. "Islamic Influence in the Work of Yorùbá Sculptor Bámigbóyè," ÌMỌ̀ DÁRA, October 16, 2022. Reproduced. www.imodara.com
  • Bámgbóyè: A Twentieth-Century Yorùbá Sculptor. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT (organizer) (September 9, 2022-January 8, 2023).
    Stories From Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
    African art rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 28, 2013-October 20, 2014).
    Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 108): October 28, 2013 - October 20, 2014.
  • {{cite web|title=Prestige robe (riga)|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s–by 1910|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.6