Description
Tuareg married woman’s shawl, “tikest”, Niger. These voluminous and beautiful indigo dyed shawls/veils are also ethnographically fascinating, representing a female appropriation of male prestige attire. The spirals of dark blue hand embroidery reveal that this garment was made as a lightweight intensely blue man’s robe, tailored from narrow 4 cm width strips of hand spun white cotton. These are made by specialist Hausa craftsmen in the vicinity of Kano in northern Nigeria for an ancient export trade to the desert dwelling Tuareg many hundreds of kilometres to the north. A woman has opened up the two sides of the robe, sewn a patch over the neck opening, added a tie cord, and made it her own with a simple brightly coloured embroidery motif towards the centre. Dates from second half of C20th and is in excellent condition. Originally this would have shed indigo profusely when handled but the excess indigo has rubbed off during years of wear.
Measurements 121 inches x 66, 308cm x 168.
All items on this site are vintage. That means that they may have a few small marks or blemishes consistent with use. We will try to highlight any significant issues in the description above but in the event you are not happy with your purchase please notify us within 48 hours of receipt and you may return it for a full refund (excluding return shipping costs.)
