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The Collector(s) / Donor(s) George and Nancy Axinn have a great deal of experience living and working in other cultures as international development specialists. Both have been affiliated with MSU since the 1950s. They spent several years living in southeast Nigeria in the 1960s. George coordinated the Michigan State University / University of Nigeria (Nsukka) program, and Nancy conducted research and taught at the University of Nigeria's Nsukka campus in the field of home economics and family ecology. Both Nancy and George recently retired from the MSU faculty, but remain very active in their respective fields. George is currently Professor Emeritus in the Department of Resource Development at MSU. During their sojourn in Nigeria they did a good deal of traveling and collected a variety of objects, from textiles to wood figurative sculpture. They also befriended another MSU faculty member, Miriam Kelley, who was participating in the MSU Nsukka program from 1965-1969. Kelley, who sadly passed away in 1991, collected many textiles during her visit to Nigeria. These were bequeathed to the Axinns with the expressed wish that they be donated to the MSU Museum. In 1992, 1993, and 1995 the Axinns donated these textiles as well as a number of other important cultural artifacts that they had collected to the Museum. Collector(s) / Donor(s) Statement The Object(s) This interesting cloth was not produced in Africa, but was expressly made for the West African textile market in England. In other words it is a trade cloth. Textile historian Lisa Arnoson has provided the following information about the cloth. The basic cloth is an imitation of Indian madras cloth. All of it, including the inlay patterns, was woven by machine in a factory in Manchester, England. On the back of the cloth is a label inscribed with the letters "ABC" and "INTORICA" The former identifies the name of the company that manufactured the cloth. The ABC factory is the one remaining factory in Manchester, England (if not in all of England), that makes textiles for African consumption. In the late nineteenth century, this company was called Arthur Brunschweiler & Co., but was later renamed ABC. "INTORICA" is a combination of "Indian" and "Africa" and identifies a specific type of cloth (an imitation of Indian madras) that the company produced earlier in the century and thus acknowledges the important trade relationship that existed for many years between West Africa (especially southeastern Nigeria) and India. What is perhaps most interesting about the cloth is that was designed to resemble a popular type of cloth that is made and used in southeastern Nigeria called akwete--named for town that is the center for its production. It is also interesting to note, that the particularly type of akwete that this emulates was inspired by yet another textile tradition--the kente tradition of Ghana. Similar inlay patterns can be seen in the example of kente (7362.18) on display in the exhibition. Further Information Books and Articles Lisa Aronson. "Patronage and Akwete Weaving," African Arts 13 (3) 1980: 62-66, 91. Venice Lamb and Judy Holmes. Nigerian Weaving. Hertingfordbury, Hertfordshire: Roxford Books, 1980. John Picton and John Mack. African Textiles. 1st US edition. New York: Harper & Row, Publisher, Inc., 1989. Internet Resourcesnone
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