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Object Timeline
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1957 |
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2013 |
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2025 |
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Skirt (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
This is a Skirt. It is dated late 19th century and we acquired it in 1957. Its medium is raffia and its technique is plain weave, pieced and sewn, with twisted warp fringes. It is a part of the Textiles department.
The Teke were famous traders, situated at the river gateway between the Atlantic and the remainder of the Kuba kingdom. This superior trading position meant that they were the first to replace traditional raffia cloths with imported cottons, making skirts like this one particularly rare. Missionary John Weeks, who arrived in the area in 1882, recounted in Among the Primitive Bakongo the incredible fineness of the “palm frondlet” textiles, while Frederick Starr, arriving in 1905, noted the prevalence of imported fabric. Plain raffia squares were used as currency or stitched together to form textiles. Although this rare Teke skirt is unadorned, the seams joining the individual panels reflect the waters that separate the earth from the sky in Teke cosmology, and the fringes are symbols of chiefhood.
It is credited Museum purchase from Au Panier Fleuri Fund.
- Woman's Ceremonial Skirt (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- raffia.
- Museum purchase through gift of Dr. and Mrs. Lewis Balamuth, Mr. and Mrs.....
- 1990-133-3
- Textile Panel, Linen Fringes
- linen selvedges, polyurethane.
- Courtesy of Luisa Cevese Riedizioni.
- 88.2015.15a,b
- Textile (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- raffia.
- Museum purchase from Au Panier Fleuri Fund.
- 1957-110-4
Its dimensions are
H x W: 111.1 x 182.9 cm (43 3/4 x 72 in.)
Cite this object as
Skirt (Democratic Republic of the Congo); raffia; H x W: 111.1 x 182.9 cm (43 3/4 x 72 in.); Museum purchase from Au Panier Fleuri Fund; 1957-110-1
