18" X 56" PLUSH KUBA PRESTIGE CLOTH
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KUBA ZAIRE PRESTIGE CLOTH "In the past, Kuba cloths of cut pile were prestige items, rarely worn but used as signs of wealth during life and at death. To make one could take up to a year. The base fabric was woven by men from softened raffia (palm leaf fibers), and usually left its light tan color. Women then applied two decorative techniques, embroidery - that is further stitching onto the base material - and plush or cut pile. " Marc Ginzberg African Forms. The Boutalla are the more plush of the Kuba "square" textiles, and the designs are elaborate and exceptional. These textiles were used as currency, and as ceremonial offerings, in the Kuba Kingdom, which is in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and was formerly Zaire. Men did the weaving, women did the dying and embroidery. Raffia, which comes from the raffia palm tree, is notoriously difficult to work with. Soaking and pounding were both used to soften the fibers. Each piece took months to make. The true jewels of textile art are the small Shoowa cut-pile cloths. Their compex interplay of geometric symbols, inventive rhythm and balance, uniquely individual designs and tight "velvet"surfaces created objects so mysteriously alluring the Kuba people traded them as currency and were the standard by which a family's wealth and status were judged. These raffia cut-pile
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