Rare 19th Century Flat Weave Raffia Fibre Textile. Tetela Culture, Central DRC

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This rare and finely constructed flat weave raffia fibre textile is one of a small group of 15 or less known examples to exist in European collections.

This textile predates the Kuba Shoowa textiles, and exhibits a uniquely individual and beautifully freelance design with a complex interplay of geometric symbols and sense of rhythm and movement. This textile, with its tight velvet-like surface, is thought to have served as a representation of wealth or a form of dowry or currency.

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Ex Private Collection, Brussels

Estimated Period: Late 19th Century

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57cm x 63cm (Mounted)

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