Cloth (Ukara)
1 of 40
Object Label
Ukara are made exclusively for members of the Ekpe society, an interethnic men’s association found throughout southeastern Nigeria and western Cameroon. The designs are part of a dynamic language known as nsibidi, which uses image and gestural performance to communicate knowledge guarded by society members. Ukara cloths are made for a specific individual, who chooses designs of personal significance.
To make ukara, artists stich designs onto cotton cloth in raffia and then dip the cloth multiple times in indigo until it reaches the desired shade of blue. The sturdy raffia prevents the indigo from penetrating to the cotton underneath, leaving white patterns visible when the raffia is removed. Some remnants of raffia can be seen on this cloth.
Caption
Igbo. Cloth (Ukara), 20th century. Cotton, indigo, 60 × 79 × 1/16 in. (152.4 × 200.7 × 0.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Frieda and Milton F. Rosenthal, 1990.132.6. Creative Commons-BY
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Cloth (Ukara)
Date
20th century
Medium
Cotton, indigo
Classification
Dimensions
60 × 79 × 1/16 in. (152.4 × 200.7 × 0.2 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds given by Frieda and Milton F. Rosenthal
Accession Number
1990.132.6
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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