Luxury Cloth

17th–18th century, inventoried 1709

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

The branch-like patterning on this cloth was created on a loom with supplementary wefts. The weaver introduced an additional weft layer over the base cloth. The embedded design was then cut and rubbed in certain areas to create the darker pile section or removed altogether to reveal the lighter base cloth.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Luxury Cloth
Date: 17th–18th century, inventoried 1709
Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo; Republic of the Congo; Angola
Culture: Kongo peoples
Medium: Raffia, pigments
Dimensions: 26 x 25 5/8 in. (66 x 65.1 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Woven
Credit Line: MIBACT–Polo Museale del Lazio, Museo Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini, Rome
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing