Man's Overskirt
Kuba
1901–1987
- Medium
- Center field: raffia, plain weave; stamped or painted; borders: alternating bands of cotton and raffia, plain and twill weaves; resist dyed, painted, or stamped; and raffia, plain weave; embroidered with raffia in running stitches cut to form pile; all edged with raffia, plain weave with knotted, cut pompons; end: raffia, plain weave; tie-dyed; joined with raffia yarns in pearl stitches
- Dimensions
- 60.4 × 171.3 cm (23 3/4 × 67 3/8 in.)
- Genre
- textile
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
stamping (marking)resist dyeingpainting (image making)clothingafricankuba (democratic republic of congo styledyeingtwill weavingarts of Africadress (garment)raffiaAfrican Textilesneedlework (visual works)costumecotton (fiber)Textileembroideringplain 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.
