African Fine Arts - AFRICAN-ART

(# 1) 25 x 17" $65	(# 15) 20 x 28" $85	(# 3) 28.5 x 21" $100
(# 13) 25 x 27" SOLD	(# 5) 20 x 20" $55	(# 6) 26 x 22" SOLD
(# 10) 19 x 21" SOLD	(# 7) 22 x 21" SOLD	(# 9) 21 x 22" $85

Kasai Velvet / Kuba Cloth - Zaire
Kasai velvet, a tufted or velvet pile raffia fabric, also known as Kuba cloth is named for the Kasai region of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). The origins of the cloth date to the 17th century and are often credited to King Shamba Bolonogongo. These complicated and labor-intensive cloths are created using the combined efforts of men and women. The basic fabric is a mat woven of raffia prepared from palm leaf fibers by the men who then weave the mat on looms. The woven mat may be softened by immersing it in a mortar filled with cold water and beating it with a pestle. At this point the mat is passed to the women who use it as the background for patterns worked with palm thread. The pile is created by clipping the tufts. Amazingly the patterns are not marked on the mats; instead the women keep the designs in their minds as they work, brilliantly anticipating the placement of the colored threads that are needed to complete the design. Finished Kuba cloths are sometimes sewn together. Kuba cloths were so highly valued that they were used for royalty, and sometimes buried with members of the royal family. Fabric made for the wives of the king boasts particularly complicated embroidery, befitting their royal status.