PHOTOS: Meet The Woman On
The N20 Note
Ladi Kwali (c.1925-1984) was a Nigerian potter.
She was born in the village of Kwali in the Gwari
region of Northern Nigeria, where pottery was a
common occupation among women. She learned
to make pottery as a child using the traditional
method of coiling. She made large pots for use
as water jars and cooking pots from coils of
clay, beaten from the inside with a flat wooden
paddle. They were decorated with incised
geometric and stylised figurative patterns.
Following the traditional African method, they
were fired in a bonfire of dry vegetation
Her pots were noted for their beauty of form and
decoration. Several were acquired by the Emir of
Abuja, in whose home they were seen by Michael
Cardew in 1950. In 1954, she joined Cardew's
pottery training centre in Abuja, its only woman
potter, where she learned to throw pots on the
wheel. She made dishes, bowls and beakers with
sgraffito decoration but also continued to
produce pots using her traditional hand building
and decorating techniques. Most of these were
glazed and fired in a high-temperature kiln and
therefore represent an interesting hybrid of
traditional African with western studio pottery.
Through Kwali's contact with Cardew, she and
her work became known in Europe, Britain and
America. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, her
work was shown to great acclaim in London at
the Berkeley Galleries. She became Nigeria's
best-known potter, was awarded a doctorate
and was made MBE in 1963. The Abuja Pottery
was renamed the Ladi Kwali Pottery and a major
street in Abuja is called Ladi Kwali Road.
Her picture appears at the back of the Nigerian
20 Naira bill.
MORE PHOTOS:
No comments:
Post a Comment