Raffia Cloth
Kuba, Kasia District, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Probably late nineteenth century
Woven raffia cloth dyed red, with a cut pile and stitched pattern in black and white.
Kuba 'velvet' is one of Africa's most famous textile types. For the Kuba people, such cloths have served as luxury status symbols, items of trade and ceremonial dress for hundreds of years. They are woven from the rib of the Raphia vinifera palm. The children, women and men of a clan participate in making the cloth. The process includes gathering and preparing the raffia fibres, weaving the cloth, dyeing the embroidery fibres, and decorating the woven cloth with embroidery, appliqué, patchwork and dye.
Collected by the Reverend Lawson Forfeitt and donated by Jamison B. Hurry.
Z 22959
