Panel
<p>According to oral tradition, the seventeenth-century Kuba king Shyaam introduced plush-textured raffia textiles to his kingdom. Raffia panels have long been considered valuable in Central Africa; plain panels were used as currency as early as the sixteenth century. Increasingly decorative panels, embellished by women with innumberable combinations of geometric patterns, may have developed from this practice. Until the early twentieth century, such panels were exchanged in a variety of contexts—for instance, as royal tribute or part of a marriage contract. Today they continue to be collected by families, used in funeral displays, and buried with important adults.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1925
- Medium
- Raffia, plain weave; embroidered with raffia in stem stitches and running stitches cut to form pile
- Dimensions
- 54.2 × 48.7 cm (21 3/8 × 19 1/8 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
More
More by this artist
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
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
Panel
1925 · Raffia, plain weave; embroidered with raffia in stem stitches and running stitches cut to form pile
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
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Year
- 1925
- Medium
- Raffia, plain weave; embroidered with raffia in stem stitches and running stitches cut to form pile
- Dimensions
- 54.2 × 48.7 cm (21 3/8 × 19 1/8 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1925-131992
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified