Mae Festa 50 Years of Collecting Textiles - Peter Pap Oriental Rugs

AFRICA – Sub-Sahara
Panel from Ceremonial Underskirt (Nchak)
(above)
Early 20 th Century
Bushong Ethnic Group, Kuba Kingdom,
Democratic Republic of Congo
Raffia palm leaf fiber, plainwoven, appliquéd
and embroidered; cotton trade cloth. One of
several panels, woven by men, and typically
embroidered by women of the extended family.
63 x 45 cm 25 x 18 in
This panel is from the same basic type of ceremonial
underskirt worn by women of the royal family in the
capital of Mushenge from newly-arrived cotton trade
cloth in the 1920s. Since such cloth was novel at the
time, it was reserved for costume for the vast royal
family. The fragment of blue trade cloth is treated
the same way as the other twelve raffia appliqués in
this panel, sewn on with black raffia fiber. The dense
web of essentially linear embroidery is similar to the
other panel.
366
Cloth Square (Latoon)
3 rd Quarter 20 th Century
Mbenge or Bushong Ethnic Group,
Kuba Kingdom,
Democratic Republic of Congo
Plainwoven raffia palm leaf fiber enhanced
with all-over running embroidery, natural
and dyed black.
46 x 41 cm 18 x 16 in
This striking little raffia square is distinguished
not only by the beauty of its design but by the
exclusive use of overall running embroidery,
accomplished by running the needle under and over
the fibers in the plainweave foundation, always with
one of the cross-fibers underneath the embroidery
fiber leaving virtually no evidence of this work on
the face of the piece.