The art of the Kuba of Zaire, which ranges from pipes to drinking cups, metal weapons to basketry and furniture to textiles, is remarkable for its’ exploration of abstract patterning. The Kuba’s primary contemporary use of the cloth is at important funeral celebrations of wealthy elders which is why the traditional techniques used to produce the cloth have survived; such events are held in high regard. Thus we continue to have an inspiring glimpse of the extraordinary creative talents of the Kuba textile designers. Until it was replaced by cowry shells, the basic unit of Kuba cloth, the Mbal, was used as currency as well as background for the cut-pile embroidery done exclusively by women. Once the background Kuba cloth is woven and dyed, a job designated solely for men, the laborious and prestigious task of cloth decoration known as cut-pile embroidery is begun. Color for the raffia threads are produced from local plant dyes. Using a small sharp knife, a strand of raffia thread that has been inserted down into and under a crossover between a single warp and weft thread and pulled up again one or two millimeters from the surface of the cloth, is cut equally close to the surface, leaving two very short tuffs. This process is continued until a block of the same color is achieved. To completely conceal the cloth by the pile, the edge of a knife is rubbed over the tuffs to fluff them out. Using this technique to create one small square, it takes one woman a month of regular work to complete. Generally drawn from a huge repertoire of known patterns, the designs used by the women are the same as those used on other forms of Kuba art and women's body scarification. Please click photo for enlargement! See other photos below. Sold When OFFLINE click button to leave a message!
Dimensions: 6 feet 8 inches long x 19 inches across. Wt: 3 lbs. **For a complete inventory listing please go to the 'Index' section on the Navigation Bar to your right** |
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