Man's wrapper

ca. 1900

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 341

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.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Man's wrapper
Artist: Dida artist
Date: ca. 1900
Geography: southern Côte d'Ivoire
Culture: Dida peoples
Medium: Raffia palm fiber (possibly Raphia vinifera), vegetal dye
Dimensions: H. 62 x W. 76 in. (157.5 x 193 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Woven
Credit Line: Purchase, William B. Goldstein Gift, 2009
Object Number: 2009.308.1
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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