African "Fancy" Print Cotton Fabric from Dakar Senegal--Leopard and Tribal Motif

Description

Printed cotton textile fabric, unused. Indigo background with leopards and tribal motifs. Production date
1990s
(circa)
in West Africa,
Sénégal
(SOTIBA Simpafric DAKAR, manufacturer)
Printed on selvedge:  'GARANTI Veritable IMI-Wax cloth’ manufactured by SOTIBA DAKAR, Senegal
This is an unused vintage piece measuring 44" wide by 2.875 yards. Condition is excellent. Shipped USPS or free local pickup outside Washington DC.
From Wikipedia:
African wax prints
, also known as
Ankara
and
Dutch wax prints
, are omnipresent and common materials for clothing in
Africa
, especially
West Africa
. They are industrially produced colorful cotton cloths with
batik
-inspired printing.
[1]
One feature of these materials is the lack of difference in the color intensity of the front and back sides. The wax fabric can be sorted into categories of quality due to the processes of manufacturing.
Wax prints are a type of nonverbal communication among African women, and thereby carry their messages out into the world. Some wax prints are named after personalities, cities, buildings, sayings, or occasions. The producer, name of the product, and registration number of the design is printed on the selvage, thus protecting the design and attesting to the quality of the fabric. Wax fabrics constitute capital goods for African women. They are therefore often retained based on their perceived market value.
The costly produced wax fabrics are increasingly imitated by alternative ways of manufacturing. The so-called "fancy fabrics" are produced in a printing procedure. Costly designs are printed digitally.
Fancy fabrics in general are cheap, industrially produced imitations of the wax prints and are based on industry print. Fancy fabrics are also called imiwax, Java print, roller print, le fancy or le légos. These fabrics are produced for mass consumption and stand for ephemerality and caducity. Fancy Fabrics are more intense and rich in colors than wax prints and are printed on only one side.