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{
    "localId": "171144",
    "label": "Prestige robe (riga)",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}

{
    "id": "171144",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Prestige robe (riga)",
    "description": "Elite Nigerian men wore voluminous status garments variously called <em>riga</em> (Hausa), <em>agbádá</em> (Yorùbá), <em>boubou</em> (French), or <em>mbubb</em> (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” (<em>aska takwas</em>) and a leaf (<em>gambiya</em>) 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.",
    "date": "late 1800s–by 1910",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.6",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q80081025"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Garment"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.6/2013.6_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.6/2013.6_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.6/2013.6_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 120 x 226 cm (47 1/4 x 89 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, probably Hausa-style or Nupe-style weavers and embroiders"
    ],
    "accession": "2013.6"
}

{
    "tec": "Cotton, silk, and indigo",
    "tombstone": "Prestige robe (riga), late 1800s–by 1910. Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, probably Hausa-style or Nupe-style weavers and embroiders. Cotton, silk, and indigo; overall: 120 x 226 cm (47 1/4 x 89 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Alma Kroeger Fund, 2013.6",
    "collection": "African Art",
    "didYouKnow": "Its owner's movements would have revealed a flash of magenta silk (an expensive trade good) along the hem of this <em>riga</em>, emphasizing his high status.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Green, James, et al. <em>Bámigbóyè : A Master Sculptor of the Yorùbá Tradition</em>. Yale University Art Gallery, 2022.",
            "page_number": "p. 55-56."
        },
        {
            "citation": "Picton, John, and John Mack. <em>African Textiles</em>. London: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Publications, 1989.",
            "page_number": "p. 192 illus"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Gillow, John. African Textiles: Colour and Creativity Across a Continent. London: Thames &amp; Hudson, 2003.",
            "page_number": "p. 100-103"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Mackie, Louise W. “2013 Acquisitions: Textiles.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 54, no. 2 (March/April 2014): 26-27.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 26",
            "url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2014-02"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Green, James. \"Islamic Influence in the Work of Yorùbá Sculptor Bámigbóyè,\" <em>ÌMỌ̀ DÁRA</em>, October 16, 2022.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced.",
            "url": "https://www.imodara.com/magazine/islamic-influence-bamigboye/"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.6",
    "creditline": "Alma Kroeger Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 08:47:45.505000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.6/2013.6_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 171144,
    "dept": "African Art",
    "coll": "African Art",
    "med": "Cotton, silk, and indigo",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}

{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.6/2013.6_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "67ad7493877e4cdc"
}