Collections by Name | Collections by Region

Nancy and George Axinn Collections of African Art and Textiles

In 1991, Nancy and George Axinn donated to the MSU Museum a collection of over 40 textiles made by artists in Akwete, a village of weavers in Nigeria. The Axinns purchased the cloths, woven from local cotton and dyed with indigo, directly from the weavers. Included in the collection is an appliquéd funeral cloth made from bark cloth and overlaid with symbols cut from British cottons that are made specifically for the West African market. In addition to the textiles, the Axinns also donated 160 cultural items from Ethiopia and Nigeria including basketry, wood and pottery containers, masks and sculptures, Ethiopian paintings and silverwork, Coptic crosses, and Nigerian beads, amulets, and necklaces.

Donors and Fieldworkers

Nancy Axinn, George Axinn

Exhibitions

"African Connections: Perspectives on Collecting Culture," Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, Jan. 31, 1999 - Sept. 5, 1999. [see Raymond Silverman, http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Virtual/AfCon/ (28 March 1999) for more information on collectors of African material for MSU Museum]

Publications

Raymond A. Silverman. "African Connections Perspectives on Collecting Culture"