Man's wrapper
Richly textured raffia textiles in incandescent hues belong to an enduring Dida women’s weaving tradition that predates the loom. Such works are painstakingly assembled by interlacing hundreds or even thousands of fibers by hand. Once completed, these labor-intensive luxury cloths may be wrapped around the torso and draped over the left shoulder, or sewn into garments worn during celebrations ranging from weddings to funerals. To achieve this interplay of elongated vertical bands and checkerboard patterns, a specialist executed a multistep tie-dyeing process using natural pigments. The fabric’s low-relief, sculptural quality reflects the manipulation and tight binding of the raffia during that dyeing process.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
