Kuba Cloth, Congo - 7.1

Kuba cloth, the result of a laborious process involving many hands, is one of the most famous cultural exports of this dynamic Kuba society. The cultivation of raffia palms and the weaving of raffia cloth are traditionally male-dominated activities in Kuba society. The most common form of raffia cloth is a plain woven cloth used as the base for decorated textile production, though other types of raffia cloth are also manufactured for various uses.

 Cloth is woven by men on inclined, single-heddle looms. When the cloth is first removed from the loom, it is coarse; it is then pounded in a mortar to soften it and prepare it for the surface decoration that is the responsibility of the women.

 Size: ∼320cm x 66cm