Blanket or Cover (Kaasa)
Unknown Artist
c. 1930s or earlier
Medium
Wool, dye
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":2.178,"width":1.264}}
Classification
Textile
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Alma Kroeger Fund
Accession Number
2024.72
About this artwork
Made on order, this blanket was hand woven in six strips that were sewn together at the selvages to make the full textile. Repeated named, symbolic geometric motifs in deep browns, blacks, and reds create an overall sense of rhythmic dynamism as naturally dyed colored floated weft (horizontal) threads dance in and out of the undyed cream-colored wool base textile. Some motifs have ties to Islam, as the Fulani were among the first West Africans to convert, or to nearby Tuareg cultures.