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Object Timeline

1920

  • Work on this object ended.

1990

  • We acquired this object.

2007

2012

2014

2025

  • You found it!

Woman's Ceremonial Skirt (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

This is a Woman's Ceremonial Skirt. It is dated early 20th century and we acquired it in 1990. Its medium is raffia and its technique is hand-loomed plain weave, embroidered in buttonhole, stem and cut pile stitches with withdrawn-thread work. It is a part of the Textiles department.

The visual arts of the Kuba Kingdom have long been admired for their vitality and complexity, especially in the handling of abstract geometric surface design. Perhaps the most dynamic examples are raffia skirts worn for ceremonial occasions. Both men and women use a broad repertoire of decorative techniques, including tie-dye, appliqué, patchwork and embroidery, but only women use cut-work and cut-pile embroidery, the two dominant techniques in this skirt. Each tuft of pile is a short length of raffia inserted with a needle under the warps of the foundation, and the two ends cut short. Brushing the exposed ends with the edge of a knife further splits the raffia ends and gives a rich, velvety texture. The undulating coil edging of this piece is created by wrapping and binding a thick rope of raffia to the edge of the skirt with buttonhole stitches; the tension introduced causes it to flip back and forth like an unruly cable.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled Unwound from the Round.

It is credited Museum purchase through gift of Dr. and Mrs. Lewis Balamuth, Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt Clinton Cohen, Gertrude Crownfeld, Valerie Dreyfus, Norvin Hewitt Green, Rodman A. Heeren, Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt, Florence N. Levy, Mrs. Paul C. Pennoyer, Mrs. Bernard Reis, Mrs. William Jay Schieffelin, and Mr. and Mrs. Stephens B. Stanton.

Our curators have highlighted 8 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Skirt (Ivory Coast)
  • raffia.
  • Museum purchase through gift of Dr. and Mrs. Lewis Balamuth, Mr. and Mrs.....
  • 1990-133-2
  •
  • Bubbles Chaise Longue
  • layered and bent corrugated cardboard.
  • Museum purchase from the Members' Acquisitions Fund of Cooper-Hewitt,....
  • 2012-3-1
  •

Its dimensions are

H x W: 68.6 x 162.6 cm (27 in. x 5 ft. 4 in.)

Cite this object as

Woman's Ceremonial Skirt (Democratic Republic of the Congo); raffia; H x W: 68.6 x 162.6 cm (27 in. x 5 ft. 4 in.); Museum purchase through gift of Dr. and Mrs. Lewis Balamuth, Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt Clinton Cohen, Gertrude Crownfeld, Valerie Dreyfus, Norvin Hewitt Green, Rodman A. Heeren, Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt, Florence N. Levy, Mrs. Paul C. Pennoyer, Mrs. Bernard Reis, Mrs. William Jay Schieffelin, and Mr. and Mrs. Stephens B. Stanton; 1990-133-3

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Making Design.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18634129/ |title=Woman's Ceremonial Skirt (Democratic Republic of the Congo) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=10 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>