Design cloth

Object Details

Kuba artist

Label Text

Kuba textiles are made of raffia fiber. The foundation cloth is a plain weave, woven by men on an inclined loom. The fibers are softened before weaving by rubbing and, after, by kneading and beating the cloth. The embroidery thread is also raffia, which is dyed before stitching. The embroidery process is done by women. Typically, neither the weft nor the plush is secured with knots.

This piece of raffia cloth is typical of that made by the Shoowa, a Kuba group that lives south of the Sankuru River. It is woven in a style common from 1978 to the late 1980s. In cloth made for their own use, the Shoowa employed an overall balanced pattern, a deep plush and even lines. In cloth produced for the foreign market, the weavers juxtaposed different patterns and wildly varied the fill-in designs. This piece differs markedly from the older export style the Shoowa used for trade with other Kuba and Kuba-related groups, which has large amounts of negative space.

Description

Woven cloth with embroidered cut pile and overstitching. The predominant geometric patterns are triangles, diamonds and rectangles, many of which include checkerboard designs inside their borders. The predominant colors are black and natural.

Provenance

Sam Hilu's Primitive Arts Ltd., New York, -- to 1988

Exhibition History

Africa: The Art of a Continent, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, June 5-September 29, 1996

Content Statement

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Credit Line

Museum purchase

Late 20th century

Object number

88-6-4

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Textile and Fiber Arts

Medium

Raffia, dye

Dimensions

H x W: 54 x 53 cm (21 1/4 x 20 7/8 in.)

Geography

Democratic Republic of the Congo

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

male

Trade

Record ID

nmafa_88-6-4

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys78deed36e-f454-4b89-8379-2e1d84572379