Material: Raffia fiber from the Raffia palm tree and cowrie shells.
People: Bushoong ( A Kuba Sub - group)
Description: Among the Kuba people, the applique designs are
abstract shapes.
Using a piece of woven raffia as a base, these
rectangular pieces of cloth are worn by the men for certain
dances wrapped around their hips.
Modern artists such as Paul
Klee have been influenced & incorporate these designs into
their works.
The warm harmonies of color tones turn these
fabrics into abstract pictures. These richly decorated cloths take
a considerable amount of time to create, as they are hand-woven,
stitched & dyed. Due to the fact that they are labor-intensive
to create, they are highly prized.
This cloth has been finely hand-woven in panels stitched
together. The men weave these panels on the loom, while the women
decorate the cloth with applied decorative geometric patterns. Its
deep coloring comes from natural pigmentation.
The stitched seams can be carefully undone to create multiple
cloths. They make for great decorative wall-hangings or pillow covers!
This magnificent cloth is one of our oldest textiles and is extremely
rare in its form. It has been woven with natural shades of browns,
creams and rusty pinks and delicately decorated with a pattern of
cowrie shells (a form of currency), each one hand-sewed on. The
rows of pom-poms framing the fabric would have only been used
on skirts worn by royal/high-ranking men.
Dimensions: 128" length x 32" width
