Look Around

The two Yoruba loom traditions and who works them, the named prestige cloths, the full range of adire resist-dyeing and the indigo behind it, the industry's collapse in the 1930s and its revival, and why everyone at a Nigerian wedding is dressed alike.

Ọbalúfọ̀n II Aláyẹmore, the Ifẹ̀ ruler credited with the introduction of brass casting and worshipped as patron of casters and weavers, and the copper mask that carries his name on an attribution made by a king in 1937.

A technical study of aṣọ òkè, the Yoruba narrow-strip prestige cloth, covering the ọfì loom's parts and mechanics, dye and fiber chemistry, structural weaving techniques, and the named regional centers that produce it.

Sixty Yorùbá proverbs on cloth as the marker of standing, on clothing worn, patched and outgrown, and on nakedness as the condition beneath every covering, presented with the original, a literal gloss, a named translation, and the situation each is spoken in.

A comprehensive scholarly analysis of Yoruba narrow-strip aṣọ òkè weaving, examining loom technology, raw materials, classic typologies, historical production centers, museum provenance, and academic debates on origin, innovation, and restitution.

An examination of Yoruba textile production, encompassing cotton fibre preparation, horizontal narrow-strip loom engineering, and the biochemistry of anaerobic indigo vat fermentation.

A guide to distinguishing four commonly conflated West African textiles by production technique, raw material, historical emergence, and social function.