robe

Embroidered kusaibi gown. It is made from strip-loom woven cotton, dyed a dark blue with indigo. The strips are then sewn together to form the gown. The front and back of the gown are heavily embroidered. Front pocket depicts a 'compound' motif, consisting of four circles in squares at the corners, encircling a fifth circle in square in the middle. This motif is common across West Africa, representing dwellings or homes. An elaborated 'compound' motif can be found on the back, with four curved sections surrounding a central checkered square. Further geometric designs surround the 'compound' on either side, including a small bird on the back.

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database sometimes uses language taken from historical documents to help research, which may now appear outdated and even offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections or can suggest corrections to our information, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk