FIBERLOK MOUSERUG, ADIRE ELEKO

Adire eleko is popular hand-dyed cloth among the Yoruba peoples, who live in Nigeria and the adjoining Republic of Benin in West Africa. Indigo-plant dye creates the characteristic blue color, which is most often applied to white factory-made cloth. Patterns are created by painting or stenciling starch, usually made from cassava flour, onto the cloth before dyeing. Starched areas resist the dye, taking on a lighter hue than the unstarched parts, which readily absorb the indigo.

Indiana University Art Museum houses one of the finest collections of traditional art from sub-Saharan Africa in North America. With over two hundred objects on display and a greater number in storage, the collection consists of representative examples of figural objects from major sculptural traditions all over the continent, as well as numerous examples of decorative arts, including furniture, jewelry, and textiles.