Unusual piece with fringe, and diamond designs created by positioning of the cowrie shells.
The textiles were worn as skirts wrapped around their hips for ceremonial dances. The warm harmonies of color tones turn these fabrics into abstract works of art. These richly decorated cloths took a considerable amount of time to create, as they were hand-woven, stitched & dyed. Due to the fact that they were labor-intensive to create, they are highly prized by collectors. The men would weave panels on a loom, while the women decorated the cloth with an endless variety of applied decorative geometric patterns. The overall designs were either symmetrical or asymmetrical. The development of new patterns was a prominent feature of Kuba kingship. Every king was expected to invent a new cloth pattern at the beginning of his reign. Natural pigments were used to create the dyes for coloring.
15' 11" x 32"
