Eyo Masqueraders, openwork shawls and early aso oke.

Eyo or Adamorisha, is the signature masquerade performance of Lagos island, still enacted as an annual festival event. Today the performers wear imported white lace robes and veils but images from the early colonial era , above, show a combination of agbada gowns in various colours with locally woven openwork aso oke cloths similar to the two now very rare C19th examples shown above. We can imagine the performers borrowing women’s shawls from wives or mothers for this purpose, and that there participation in the spiritually charged performance added an additional layer of meaning to the textiles.

For more details on the shawls please visit out Nigerian men’s weaving gallery here. For robes see our agbada gallery.

The second masquerade picture above is in the British Museum, ref Af,A51.75. Other images authors collection.

“African Lace” exhibition in Vienna–some photographs

Images from the exhibition “African Lace” at the Ethnology Museum, Vienna, from 22 October 2010 to 14 February 2011. Organised jointly with the National Museum in Lagos, where the show will also appear in 2011, these photographs are courtesy of the co-curator Dr Barbara Plankensteiner and are copyright the museum as follows: Photographs: Alexander Rosoli, © KHM mit MVK und ÖTM. Please do not reproduce them without direct permission from the museum. Click on any image to see a larger version.

There are also two videos of the show posted on YouTube:

African Lace – forthcoming exhibition

Advance notice of an interesting exhibition. From October 2010 to January 2011 the Ethnology Museum in Vienna will have a major exhibition on lace fabrics in Nigeria, in collaboration with the National Museum, Lagos. The show will then transfer to Lagos from March to Jun 2011. Austria is a major producer of lace for the West African market. A substantial catalogue in English and German editions will accompany the show. More details later in the year.