African Arts Gallery

The African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving.
Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, subgroup Kuba, these fabrics forming true paintings of primitive art, consist of a raffia textile base on which the geometric patterns formed represent the body scarifications of the ethnic group or the decorations of 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 were used as currency, or followed their owners to the grave, covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who introduced the technique of velvet weaving to Kuba country in the 17th century. He had previously introduced the Kuba to the art of blacksmithing. It was the men who softened the fibers of young ...

African art and the refinement of Kuba weaving
Produced in Zaire by the Shoowa, Bashoowa, Kuba sub-group, these fabrics forming veritable paintings are made up of a raffia textile base on which threads are cut with flush, 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 seat or cover, in order to enhance its prestige. In many cases they took on the value of money, or also followed their owners to the grave by covering the body of the deceased. It was King Shamba Bolongongo who introduced the technique of velvet weaving in the 17th century to the Kuba country. He had previously ...

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 ...