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Gifts & Blessings: The Textile Arts of Madagascar

April 14, 2002 - September 2, 2002

Museum: African Art Museum

Location: Sylvia Williams Gallery, Level 1

Cloth has long been considered the ultimate gift of the people of Madagascar, an island nation located off the southeast coast of Africa. The exhibit examines the historical context and dynamism of contemporary cloth production through a collection of silk and cotton wrappers, burial shrouds, marriage cloths, contemporary fashions, and textile art. Included in the exhibition are two important cloths given as diplomatic gifts to President Grover Cleveland in 1886 by Malagasy Queen Ranavalona III.

Activity Room

See August 2002 Smithsonian magazine, pp. 42-43

Catalogue: $35

Online Exhibition