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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.
Instead of the technical approach of supplementary weft patterning introduced on the loom typically favored by Kongo fiber artists, here fibers dyed red, yellow, and brown were embroidered, possibly with a needle, into the loosely woven base cloth. The complex surface pattern consists of interlocking lozenges around central diamonds. The edges have been left unfinished as a fringe.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 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: 43 11/16 × 42 1/8 in. (111 × 107 cm) with fringe. 39 1/8 × 35 7/8 in. (99.5 × 91 cm) excluding fringe.
  • Classification: Textiles-Woven
  • Credit Line: MIBACT– Polo Museale del Lazio, Museo Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini, Rome (5472)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing