Noblewoman's Skirt
<p>Across Central Africa's Congo Basin, the processing of raffia palm fiber to weave textiles for clothing, display, and exchange is an ancient practice. The cloth is produced in panels on a single heddle loom, employing discrete lengths of raffia that correspond to the length of the fiber as it is peeled from the palm frond. This long and sumptuous skirt's dynamic abstract patterns, which are rendered in appliqué and embroidery, break free from the weaving's underlying grid. The use of a contrasting background color to accentuate the patterns suggests that the skirt comes from the eastern Ngeende or Ngongo regions of the Kuba kingdom.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1875
- Dimensions
- 80.7 × 555.2 cm (31 3/4 × 218 1/2 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Kuba
Artist
Textile
Kuba is a Czech and Japanese surname. In Czech, Kuba is a pet form of the given name Jakub. Notable people with the surname include:Filip Kuba, Czech ice hockey player Gabriela Kubová, Czech ice dancer Ludvík Kuba (1863–1956), Czech artist and musician Martin Kuba, Czech politician Masatomo Kuba, Japanese footballer Paula Kubová, Slovak volleyball player Simona Kubová, Czech swimmer
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More by Kuba
Panel
1934 · Raffia, plain weave; with drawnwork embroidered in overcast stitches; pulled thread work embroidered in buttonhole stitches; and embroidered in stem stitches; three panels pieced
Double Panel
1925 · Raffia, plain weave; embroidered in running stitches cut to form pile; couching; two panels joined
Panel
1925 · Raffia, plain weave; embroidered with raffia in stem stitches and running stitches cut to form pile
Panel
1925 · Raffia, plain weave; embroidered with raffia in stem stitches and running stitches cut to form pile
Panel
1925 · Raffia, plain weave; embroidered with raffia in stem stitches and running stitches cut to form pile
Panel
1925 · Raffia, plain weave; embroidered with raffia in stem stitches and running stitches cut to form pile; couching
Record
Verified by WattsOSSource
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified