Woman's Ceremonial Skirt
Kuba
1875–1925
- Medium
- Raffia, plain weave; embroidered with raffia in buttonhole, pearl, and stem stitches, and running stitches cut to form pile; edged with raffia and hemp, plain weave, 2:2 oblique interlacing, and raffia-wrapped-raffia cord
- Dimensions
- 165.2 × 78.8 cm (65 × 31 in.)
- Genre
- textile
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
hempgeometricafricankuba (democratic republic of congo stylearts of AfricaraffiaAfrican Textilesneedlework (visual works)costumeTextileembroideringplain weaving
About
Assembled of individually worked panels sewn together, this skirt is embellished with an ever-shifting array of patterns. Although Kuba men are responsible for preparing and weaving raffia, Kuba women decorate the cloth with imagination and artistry. To make a skirt of this size, several women from the same extended family would contribute different sections. Raffia textiles have long been an important part of Kuba artistic production.
