Igunnu Ko ("the lengthening thing") Costume
Date2001
Maker
Yoruba
Maker
Ayan Agalu
Maker
Osun State
Maker
Erin Osun
Maker
Nigerian
Label TextIgunnu Ko ("the lengthening thing") costume is the spinning cyclone of cloth that grows from two to fourteen feet or more. Continually shifting in shape, this masquerade is a virtuoso display of cloth and its manipulation.
Object number2001.36
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]).Credit LineGeneral Acquisition Fund
Dimensions186 × 32 × 32 in. (472.4 × 81.3 × 81.3cm)
MediumAnkara cloth, applique, wooden sticks, and basketry hoop
Songye culture, Democratic Republic of the Congo
early 20th century
Object number: 2017.25
Yoruba
2001
Object number: 2001.37
Yoruba
2000
Object number: 2001.38