Ceremonial Skirt
Late 19th century
Medium
Raffia, plain weaves; pieced; appliqúed with plain weaves in pearl stitches; embroidered in pearl stitches; edged with bands of cotton, warp-stripe warp-float faced twill weave; cotton, plain weave; pieced and hemmed in slip and pearl stitches; and cotton, warp-float faced alternating float weave; joined with raffia in pearl and twisted insertion stitches
Dimensions
77.1 × 475.4 cm (30 3/8 × 187 1/8 in.)
Classification
needlework (visual works)
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
110058
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Individually worked panels were sewn together to create this expansive skirt embellished with a kinetic array of patterns. The central floating motifs add lightness, especially when contrasted with the black-and-white checkerboard edge. Kuba men are responsible for preparing and weaving raffia, while Kuba women cut the appliqúe shapes freehand to decorate the cloth. To make a skirt of this size, several women from the same extended family would construct different sections. The abstract forms m...