A lady gracefully adorned in an Akwete cloth ensemble — a traditional handwoven textile of Igbo origin, celebrated for its intricate patterns and rich cultural heritage.

“As regards Akwete cloth, it appears to be agreed that the weaving of the Akwete cloth began in the South Eastern part of Nigeria in the Mid 19th Century as a response to the emergence of a wealthy middle class of indigenous palm oil traders in the Southern region of the country.

These traders profited from the burgeoning oil palm trade that arose in the wake of the demise of the Atlantic slave trade. The Akwete weavers imitated the European luxury cloth imported by wealthy indigenous oil palm traders by adapting their vertical looms to make cloth characterized by elaborate brocade patterns that formerly had been restricted to ceremonial textiles in the Benin and Yorba Kingdoms.

It would appear that some of the weaving designs also incorporated ‘threads unraveled from foreign cloth’. There is evidence that the designs of the Akwete cloth have been over time been influenced by designs from the south western part of Nigeria from England and India”

Culled from: Page 40- The Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions in Africa by Enyinna Nwauche.

Image Credit: Horniman Museums Archive