Prestige robe (riga) (late 1800s–by 1910): Art, History and Details

Prestige robe (riga) (late 1800s–by 1910) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Elite Nigerian men wore voluminous status garments variously called riga (Hausa), agbádá (Yorùbá), boubou (French), or mbubb (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” (aska takwas) and a leaf (gambiya) 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.

Object facts

• Title: Prestige robe (riga)
• Date: late 1800s–by 1910
• Culture: Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, probably Hausa-style or Nupe-style weavers and embroiders
• Type: Garment
• Technique: Cotton, silk, and indigo
• Dimensions: Overall: 120 x 226 cm (47 1/4 x 89 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2013.6

A detail from the museum

Its owner's movements would have revealed a flash of magenta silk (an expensive trade good) along the hem of this riga, emphasizing his high status.

Collection credit

Alma Kroeger Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Green, James, et al. Bámigbóyè : A Master Sculptor of the Yorùbá Tradition. Yale University Art Gallery, 2022.
• Picton, John, and John Mack. African Textiles. London: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Publications, 1989.
• Gillow, John. African Textiles: Colour and Creativity Across a Continent. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.