women's shirt with Queen Elizabeth II

unrecorded Hausa-Fulani artist, artist

women's shirt with Queen Elizabeth II, 1981

Where object was made: Kano, Nigeria

Material/technique: batik; cotton

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 50 x 101.5 cm
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 19 11/16 x 39 15/16 in

Credit line: Gift of Professor Beverly Mack

Accession number: 2011.0239.01

Not on display

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Art and Activism: 50 Years of Africana Studies at KU

Professor Emerita Beverly Mack commissioned this tailored set commemorating the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Nigeria. Though Nigeria gained independence from England in 1960, the queen’s visit remained an honored memory when Mack lived in Kano in the late 1970s.

Dutch wax resist cloth was the most valued and expensive material for tailoring in late 1970s Kano. Wax resist is a process where the artist creates a design using wax on cloth, then covers the textile with dye. Afterwards, the wax is removed, and the dye has only penetrated those parts of the cloth where there was no wax. In multicolor designs such as this one, the process is repeated multiple times.

Written by Liz James

Power Clashing: Clothing, Collage, and Contemporary Identities

African commemorative cloths are often created to celebrate local community leaders and important politicians, or to mark historic events. These batik cloths commemorate the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II of England’s visit to Nigeria. Made after Nigeria claimed its independence from England in 1960, these cloths symbolize nearly 50 years of colonial rule through the noticeable and repeated use of the Union Jack flag and British crown. Beyond such imagery, a history of colonial relations is embedded in the manufacturing of batik cloth itself. Originally made in Indonesia, these resist-dye patterned cloths were later produced in Europe and sold to western African countries in the 19th century. Colonial powers such as England largely shaped industrialization of batik cloth and its later popularity in African markets.