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Bogolan Wrap

Before 1910
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 Bogolanfini creations produced by Bamana women through a complex form of mud-based resist patterning may absorb and deflect an excess of spiritual force. The female specialists who master that complex, multistaged process transform a blank cotton canvas into a dynamic visual text invested with protective power. White abstract motifs emblazoned against a dark ground may refer variously to objects, locations, animals, or even past events related to daily life, myth, or philosophy. The dotted circles filling the central field of this example create a pattern known as “house surrounded by flowers,” which may allude to ideas of fertility, domesticity, and integrity. When incorporated within original compositions, these motifs produce an overarching esoteric visual text often legible to only a select few.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bogolan Wrap
  • Date: Before 1910
  • Geography: Mali
  • Culture: Bamana peoples
  • Medium: Cotton, dye
  • Dimensions: W. 54 1/2 × D. 3/16 × L. 34 1/16 in. (138.5 × 0.5 × 86.5 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Costumes
  • Credit Line: Musée du Quai Branly–Jacques Chirac, Paris (71.1930.61.537)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing