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. After the embroidery, done by women, is completed, the edges are finished with either a hem or, as in this cloth, by bundling fibers and attaching the bundle with overstitching. Typically, neither the weft nor the plush are secured with knots.
The overall composition of this textile consists of interlacing diamonds and lozenges in two textures, the flat embroidery of the borders and the plush nap of the larger central panel.
Women wear this style of textile as an overskirt in combination with a much longer embroidered textile with a belt to hold it in place. Kuba peoples dress in elaborately embroidered textiles on many ceremonial occasions. They are worn at special events including funerals for notable persons and dance festivals or dramas that may reflect or defuse political tensions. The textiles also serve as shrouds or gifts to create reciprocal duties of support.
Description:
Raffia fiber skirt composed of interlacing diamonds and lozenges in two textures, the flat embroidery of the borders and the plush nap of the larger central panel.
Provenance:
Pace Primitive, New York, -- to 1986
Nancy Hemenway and Robert D. Barton (Textile Arts Foundation), Washington, D.C., 1986 to 1996
Exhibition History:
Gifts to the National Collection of African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 17, 1997-January 4, 1998
Published References:
National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 134, no. 95.
National Museum of African Art. 2007. 2007-2008 School Calendar: Featuring the new Let's Read about Africa and the Sounds of African Music programs. Museum calendar. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, March 2008.
Ravenhill, Philip. 1998. Gifts to the National Collection of African Art. Exhibition brochure, no. 13.
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