African Arts Gallery

Prestigious fabrics among Kuba.
African art objects. Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, mainly, subgroup Kuba, these fabrics forming true paintings of primitive art, consist of a textile base in raffia. The geometrical patterns formed refer to the body scarification of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases, they took on the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who is said to have introduced the technique of weaving to Kuba country in the 17th century. He had previously introduced the Kuba to the art of forging. It was the men who ...

Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these woven fabrics made of ficus bark fibers were painted by women. The men cut wood and hammered the bark, and the women usually used a decoction of gardenia mixed with charcoal ash to draw with their fingers or plant stems patterns similar to the tattoos worn by tribal members. On this thick specimen, grids of different sizes were drawn on the light background, with lines connecting each of them. The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs with which the Mbuti pygmies of Ituri address God. Texture with a woolly touch. The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of cloth (called tapa in Oceania) decorated ...

African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving.
Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, subgroup Kuba, these fabrics, which form real paintings of primitive art, are made of a raffia textile base on which threads are cut flush, forming a velvet effect accentuated by the contrasts of tone. The geometrical patterns formed represent the body scarifications of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases, they took on the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who is said to have introduced the technique of velvet weaving to the Kuba country in the ...

Belgian African tribal art collection.
African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving.
Products to Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, a subgroup Kuba , these fabrics forming real paintings of first art, consist of a textile base in raffia on which threads are cut to the brim, forming a velvet effect accentuated by the contrasts of tone. The geometric patterns formed represent the body scarifications of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases they took the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who introduced the velvet weaving technique to Kuba ...

Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these woven fabrics made of ficus bark fibers were painted by women. The men cut wood and hammered the bark, and the women usually used a decoction of gardenia mixed with charcoal ash to draw with their fingers or plant stems patterns similar to the tattoos worn by tribal members. In this example with its dense, velvety fiber, linear patterns have been drawn on the light background. Small holes at the height of the knots of the bark.
The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs with which the Mbuti pygmies of Ituri address God. Soft touch texture. The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of cloth ...

African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, Kuba sub-group, these fabrics, which form true paintings of prime art, consist of a raffia textile base on which threads are cut flush, forming a velvet effect accentuated by the contrasts in tone. The geometrical patterns formed represent the body scarification of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases, they took on the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who is said to have introduced the technique of velvet weaving to the Kuba country in the 17th century. He had ...

African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, Kuba sub-group, these fabrics, which form true paintings of prime art, consist of a raffia textile base on which threads are cut flush, forming a velvet effect accentuated by the contrasts in tone. The geometrical patterns formed represent the body scarification of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases, they took on the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who is said to have introduced the technique of velvet weaving to the Kuba country in the 17th century. He had ...

African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving. Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, Kuba sub-group, these fabrics forming true paintings of primitive art, consist of a raffia textile base on which threads are cut to the ground. The geometrical patterns formed represent the body scarification of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases, they took on the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who is said to have introduced the technique of velvet weaving to the Kuba country in the 17th century. He had previously introduced the Kuba to the art of ...

Belgian African tribal art collection.
African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving.
Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, subgroup Kuba, these fabrics, which form real paintings of primitive art, are made of a raffia textile base on which threads are cut flush, forming a velvet effect accentuated by the contrasts of tone. The geometrical patterns formed represent the body scarifications of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases, they took on the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who is said to have introduced the technique of ...

Belgian African tribal art collection.
African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving.
Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, subgroup Kuba, these fabrics, which form real paintings of primitive art, are made of a raffia textile base on which threads are cut flush, forming a velvet effect accentuated by the contrasts of tone. The geometrical patterns formed represent the body scarifications of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases, they took on the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who is said to have introduced the technique of ...

Belgian African tribal art collection.
African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving.
Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, subgroup Kuba, these fabrics, which form real paintings of primitive art, are made of a raffia textile base on which threads are cut flush, forming a velvet effect accentuated by the contrasts of tone. The geometrical patterns formed represent the body scarifications of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases, they took on the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who is said to have introduced the technique of ...

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Produced by pygmies in the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these woven fabrics made of ficus bark fibers were painted by women. The men cut wood and hammered the bark, and the women usually used a decoction of gardenia mixed with charcoal ash to draw with their fingers or plant stems patterns similar to the tattoos worn by the tribe members.
On this copy, grids of different sizes have been drawn in khaki on a light background, a line connecting each of them, and whose ends sometimes end in a loop. The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs with which the pygmies of Ituri address God. The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of cloth (called tapa in ...

Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these woven fabrics made of ficus bark fibers were painted by women. The men chopped wood and hammered the bark, and the women usually used a decoction of gardenia mixed with charcoal ash to draw designs similar to the tattoos worn by the tribe members. On this example, grids of different sizes were drawn on the light background, a line connecting each of them, sometimes forming a loop at the end. The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs with which the pygmies of Ituri address God. The fibers spread apart at a knot in the bark. The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of cloth (called tapa in Oceania) ...

Prestigious fabrics among the objects of African art Kuba
Products in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, mainly, subgroup Kuba , these fabrics forming real first art paintings, consist of a textile base in raffia. The geometric patterns formed represent the bodily scarifications of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. They in many cases took value of money, or also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who introduced the weaving technique to the Kuba country in the 17th century. He had previously introduced the Kuba to the art of forging. It was the men who softened the fibers of young ...

Ex-Swiss African art collection.

Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these woven fabrics made of ficus bark fibers were painted by women. The men cut wood and hammered the bark, and the women usually used a decoction of gardenia mixed with charcoal ash to draw with their fingers or plant stems patterns similar to the tattoos worn by tribal members. On this densely textured specimen, grids of various sizes were drawn on the light background. The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs with which the Mbuti pygmies of Ituri address God. Soft touch texture. The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of cloth (called tapa in Oceania) decorated ...

Ex-collection Belgian African art.
African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, a Kuba subgroup, these fabrics forming real paintings of prime art, consist of a textile base in raffia on which threads are cut to the brim, forming a velvet effect accentuated by the contrasts of tone. The geometric patterns formed represent the body scarifications of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases they took the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who introduced the velvet weaving technique to Kuba country in the ...

Ex-collection Belgian African art.
Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these woven fabrics made of ficus bark fibers were painted by women. The men cut wood and hammered the bark, and the women usually used a decoction of gardenia mixed with charcoal ash to draw with their fingers or plant stems patterns similar to the tattoos worn by tribal members. On this example, grids of different sizes were drawn on the light background, lines connecting each of them. The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs through which the Mbuti pygmies of Ituri address God. Soft touch texture. The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of cloth (called tapa in ...

The African art and refinement of Kuba weaving, produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, a subgroup Kuba, these fabrics forming real paintings of first art, consist of a textile base in raphia on which threads are cut to the brim, forming a velvet effect accentuated by the contrasts of tone. The geometric patterns formed represent the body scarifications of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as a seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases they took the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who introduced the velvet weaving technique to Kuba country in the 17th century. He had previously ...

Prestigious fabrics among Kuba.
African art objects. Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, mainly, subgroup Kuba, these fabrics forming true paintings of primitive art, consist of a textile base in raffia. The geometrical patterns formed represent the body scarification of the ethnic group or the decorations of the sculptures. These refined fabrics were intended to be used at the royal court, as seat or cover, to enhance its prestige. In many cases, they took on the value of money, or they also followed their owners into the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who is said to have introduced the technique of weaving to Kuba country in the 17th century. He had previously introduced the Kuba to the art of forging. It was the men who ...

Ex-Swiss African art collection.

Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these woven fabrics made of ficus bark fibers were painted by women. The men cut wood and hammered the bark, and the women usually used a decoction of gardenia mixed with charcoal ash to draw with their fingers or plant stems patterns similar to the tattoos worn by the tribe members.
On this specimen on which the knots of the bark appear, the design is formed of lined patterns drawn on a brown background. The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs with which the pygmies of Ituri address God. Soft touch texture.< The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of ...

Produced by the pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these woven fabrics made of ficus bark fibers were painted by women. The men cut wood and hammered the bark, and the women usually used a decoction of gardenia mixed with charcoal ash to draw designs similar to the tattoos worn by tribal members. In this example, where the fibers spread locally, grids and star patterns have been drawn on the light background, with a line connecting each one. The rhythm and the space created between the different signs would also have a link with the polyphonic songs with which the pygmies of Ituri address God. The Mangbetu, in contact with the Asua pygmies, produced a similar type of cloth (called tapa in Oceania) decorated with more complex symbols called murumba or ...