Ceremonial Skirt
1875/1900
Medium
Raffia, plain weave and cotton, plain weave; pieced; appliquéd with raffia, plain weave in pearl stitches
Dimensions
78 × 525 cm (30 3/4 × 206 3/4 in.)
Classification
needlework (visual works)
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
110059
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Kuba ceremonial skirts such as this one were worn as part of everyday finery by figures of high social rank as well as exchanged or otherwise distributed as prized items or currency; the objects were also sometimes used in dowry payments or displayed as funerary shrouds. The production of a fabric from the raffia palm leaf requires intensive human labor and technical ability. The abstract motifs that overlay the raffia cloth—circles, L-shapes, and lozenges—reference symbols and ideas that were b...