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.
Ex Private Collection, Brussels
Estimated Period: Late 19th Century
57cm x 63cm (Mounted)
(Click on images to enlarge)
