Exhibitions

Gifts & Blessings: The Textile Arts of Madagascar

April 14, 2002 – September 2, 2002

National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC

Sylvia Williams Gallery, Sublevel 1

See on Map Floor Plan

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

Catalogue