African textiles

The attributions of the origin of the objects is based on their stylistic characteristics and/or on the data provided by the seller and/or experts, but of course certainty cannot be reached.

Old ceremonial complete, multi-panel skirts / tcaka / ntshak / ntsak, with patchwork / pagne;
Wickelgewand / Wickeltuch
of the Bakuba / Kuba / Bushong / Bushoong / Bushongo / Ngeende / Ngongo tribe/people
from Congo / DRC / formerly Zaire

Various people are united in the Bakuba/Kuba kingdom, including the leading Bushong/Bushoong/Bushongo, the Ngeende and the Ngongo.

Many small rectangular mats were woven separately, hemmed and sewed together to make long wrap-around ceremonial dance skirts.
The dark colours were prepared from burned leaves.
The red colour was prepared from wet, small pieces of wood from the Tukula tree.
Each piece took months to make.
These skirts were worn wrapped multiple times.

The following are fragments from a text written by Duncan Clarke on the
Adire African Art WWW site:

“The embroidered and appliqué decorated raffia cloths of the Kuba peoples of the Kasai river region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) are the best known survivors of an ancient African tradition of fine quality raffia cloth weaving that was once widespread across the whole of Central Africa. Similar embroidered cloths from the Kongo kingdom on the coast to the west were greatly admired in post-Renaissance Europe and entered the curio cabinets and treasuries of nobles and kings as the finest products of African artistry
…
More recently their mastery of abstract patterning was a source of inspiration to artists such as Klee, and Matisse, who displayed part of his large collection on the wall of his studio.
The Kuba are a diverse group of peoples who at least until recently had a number of distinct sub-styles of raffia cloth decoration. The main ceremonial occasions and court rituals for which long raffia dance skirts and embroidered cloth panels, mbal, were once produced are quite rare events today. The continued survival of the techniques in an age where most Kuba people wear factory produced cloth for everyday dress is mainly due to the importance of embroidered and appliqué cloth in funeral celebrations. Fine cloths are accumulated within the matrilineages over several generations, with much debate over which examples are suitable for use in the ceremonial presentations and exchanges accompanying funerals. Kuba apparently believe that they would not be recognised by their clan ancestors in the land of the dead unless they were correctly dressed in high quality raffia textiles.
…
Among the Kuba peoples of the Kasai river region in Congo men are responsible for the weaving of raffia cloth, but once the cloth is complete it is the responsibility of women to prepare it for decoration.
The cloth as woven is stiff and rough with loose and uneven edges. Even for everyday use it must be hemmed and softened before it can be sewn into a larger garment. If it is to form one of the main prestige garments, the dancing skirt, it will be softened by pounding it in a large wooden mortar, and in some cases treated with a wine-red or brown dye.
It was previously thought that the actual process of decorating the cloths was done only by women, but recent research by Patricia Darish suggests that men are responsible for decorating the rectangular skirts that they wear themselves, while women decorate smaller female dancing skirts and cut-pile embroidered panels.
Among the decorative techniques that both men and women may use are certain types of embroidery, appliqué and reverse appliqué, patchwork, dyeing, and tie dyeing.
Women's dance skirts are up to nine yards in length, being wound several times around the body and folded down over a belt.
The men's skirts are significantly longer and normally have distinct borders often with a fringe of raffia bobbles.
Appliqué, often outlined and emphasized by sewing around the design area with a darker thread, is one of the two most important decorative techniques utilised on Kuba ceremonial textiles. It has been suggested that the use of appliqué among the Kuba arose out of the need to repair the holes in cloth caused by the rigorous pounding of the woven raffia required to achieve the desired softness. Right-angled, rectangular, or circular patches are sewn over the holes that emerge in the softening process, while other patches are then sewn on undamaged areas of the cloth to balance the overall visual effect.
Support for the idea that this may be the origin of the use of appliqué is provided by examining some of the oldest Kuba dance skirts in museum collections. The bulk of the patches on some of these do seem to have been motivated by the need to repair holes and achieve a balanced design, with quite large areas of cloth left plain. In later examples there is a tendency to cover the whole surface of the cloth with appliqué, often including some figurative designs.”

Besides many details on the Shoowa textitles, the following book includes also a text about the long Kuba skirts and a few photos on pp. 134-143, as well as references to older information sources.
Georges Meurant,
Shoowa motieven: Afrikaans textiel van het Kuba-rijk.
Gemeentekrediet, Belgium, 1986, 205 pp.

Two Kuba textiles are shown and briefly described on pp. 276-277 of the book
Philips (editor)
Africa: the art of a continent.
Munich, New-York : Prestel, 1995.
(Published at the occasion of the great exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art in London, England.)

Kuba ntshak textiles are described and shown among other African textiles in the following printed books:

Au fil de la parole - Tissus de l'Afrique Noire - Tuche aus Schwarzafrika.
Luxembourg : Banque de Luxembourg, Musee Dapper, 1996, on pp. 11-18

"Die persönlichen Zeremonialkleider der Bushong werden rockartig gleichermassen von Frauen und Männern getra-gen. Machart und Muster sind Geschlecht, Würdenträ-gern und Zeremonien genau zugeordnet. Die Tücher konnten mitunter auch als wertvolles Tauschmittel oder Geschenk Verwendung finden. Das Grundgewebe dieser Kleider besteht aus Raphia, dem Blattfasern-Bast der Vinifera-Palme und wird von Män-nern hergestellt. Die grauen Farbtöne werden mit dem durch das Verbrennen von Blättern gewonnen Eisenoxyd erzeugt, die roten aus dem mit Wasser vermengten, pulve-risiertem Holz des Tukula-Baumes. Frauen verzieren anschliessend die Stoffbahnen aus ca. 50x50cm grossen zusammengenähten Stücken."
Literatur: Georges Meurant, Traumzeichen. Verlag Fred Jahn, München, 1989

Piece 1. Natural ochre colour.

Ton sur ton.
With black embroidery and appliqué outlined and emphasized by sewing around the design area with a darker thread, all in the characteristic, typical Kuba / Bushoong patterns.

Weight is 3.0 kg.
Each panel is made of two uneven parts.
Bought on an auction of tribal art in Antwerpen, Belgium.
Not available.
A photo of a similar piece is available free of charge from the database of photos of pieces in museums in France, from http://www.photo.rmn.fr

The inner part is less important; it receives less attention; it is not seen when the skirt is worn:

Piece 2. Dyed warm red.

Weight is 3.2 kg.
Length is 6 meter.
Width is 0.8 meters.
With discoloration from deeper red to fainter red.
Probably very old and well used as it is very soft in contrast to new raphia, and with many repairs with patchwork.
Bought on an auction of tribal art in Antwerpen, Belgium.

A photo of a similar piece is available free of charge from the database of photos of pieces in museums in France, from http://www.photo.rmn.fr/

Piece 3: red and ochre combined

Large upper part for the waist dyed in warm red;
smaller, narrower, lower part closer to the ground in natural ochre colour, not dyed.
This yields an special and attractive colour combination.
With a fringe of raffia bobbles, that may indicate that this is a men’s skirt.
Some of the panels are almost left plain; as most recent pieces are full of decorations, and as the patchwork on older pieces was applied to cover holes only, this may indicate that this is an old piece.
Weight is 2.5 kg.
Bought on an auction of tribal art in Antwerpen, Belgium.
Not in the collection anymore; sold

1 indigo Adire cloth bought personally from Nike Olaniyi Davies, manager of the Davis center workshop in Nigeria (Yoruba people)

"Nike Davies Okundaye is one of the internationally known and renowned female artists and textile designers from Africa. The veteran textile designer brings a vivid imagination as well as a wealth of history and tradition regulating the production of adire which is the traditional Yoruba hand painted cloth.

Nike Davies Okundaye born in 1954 in Nigeria, is one of the internationally known and renowned female designers and artists. She was brought up amidst the traditional weaving and dying practice in her native village of Ogidi in Western Nigeria. Her artistic skills were nurtured by her parents and great grandmother, who were musicians and craftspeople specialising in the area of cloth weaving, adire making, indigo dying and leather.

Nike spent the early part of her life in Oshogbo which is recognised as one of the major centres for art and culture in Nigeria. During her stay in Oshogbo, her informal training was dominated by Indigo and Adire. She is today a proud product of the famous Oshogbo Art School.

The dynamism of Nike's compositions, the complexity and firm structure, emerge in her textile designs particularly for the adire and batiks. Nike brings to her adire a vivid imagination as well as a wealth of history and tradition regulating the production of adire. Adire is the traditional Yoruba hand painted cloth. Traditional adire designs are myriad, full of meaning and history, which are combined into larger overall patterns with names that are universally recognised in the Yoruba culture. She seeks to re-establish the value of adire as art, and to increase the appreciation of this meticulously designed, hand produced textile. For many years this veteran adire artist has created both adire and batik works that glorify the social practices and the cosmic drama of Yoruba tradition. The prevailing indigo colour of her textiles accentuates the aura, mystery and beauty of her designs.

Nike has used her international success to launch a cultural revival in Nigeria. She is the founder and director of 3 art centres which offer free training to over 150 young artists in visual, musical and performing arts. The centre also serves as a rich source of knowledge for traditional arts and culture to scholars and interested bodies.

From her first solo exhibition at the Goethe Institute, Lagos in 1968, Nike has grown to become one of the major imprints on the international art circuits. She 'represents the new breed of African woman artist, many of whose realities are now international, though in essence they are perpetuating the living tradition of female artists and 'cloth-queens', controlling heady empires of fabric- wealthy powerful women'. Nike is known all over the world trumpeting her designs through exhibitions and workshops in Nigeria, USA, Belgium, Germany, Japan and Italy to mention a few. She lives and works in Lagos.

Artist and designer, Nike Davies Okundaye, loves Nigeria, her country. She describes the country as one with an ancient culture that thrives in modern cities, a world that swings with ease between talking drums and the Internet.

For more than 20 years, Nike has given workshops on traditional Nigerian textiles to audiences in America and Europe. She is known for her colourful batik and paintings that offer modernist gloss on traditional themes. Brought up amidst the traditional weaving and dying vocation, Nike is widely practiced in her native village of Ogidi Kogi State, North Central Nigeria.

Her fame as an artist and teacher has taken her all over the globe. Not one to pass up an opportunity, she used her international success to launch a cultural revival, building art centers where young Nigerians master traditional arts and crafts. Whether a specialist in the arts, an enthusiast of African arts or merely interested in a brief immersion in a new culture, Nike offers the opportunity to see Nigeria through fresh eyes.

The Beginning
Mrs. Davis-Okundaye discovered art when she was seven years old. While staying with her great grandmother, she learnt the craft of traditional weaving and dying. Therefore, art comes naturally to her.

Interestingly, Nike ended her formal education at Primary 6 in her village at Ogidi-Ijumu. She didn't even study art, the medium through which she has achieved global fame. However, she went ahead to teach herself English at home while her great grandmother, late madam Ibitola, an accomplished adire textile maker and a dyer of fabric in her days, passed down the training in art to her.

Watching her great grandmother in the art of adire textile processing and helping her out, Nike walked up the line to become an expert in the adire art, dyeing, weaving, painting and embroidery.

Her early life was full of the twists and turns; of dangerous adventures. At 13, she ran away from home and joined a travelling theatre before settling down to stay with her aunt in Osogbo. It was there that she met the late renowned artist, Suzanne Wenger.

Watching Suzanne work became an inspiration for her and before long, she also started carving, weaving and painting textiles.

She started her first gallery in 1983, in Osogbo. After drinking from the rich fountain of Suzanne Wenger's spring, she relocated home and branched out on her own, selling her art works as well as holding workshops for people to create or sell their own art pieces.

Her Art Galleries
In 1996, Nike established an Aso-Oke (textile) weaving center at Ogidi-Ijumu for the women of the village. The centre's impact was felt in the town, employing and empowering more than 200 women. Six years later, she established another art centre, this time the Art and Culture Research Center at Piwoyi village, FCT Abuja. The centre had an art gallery and a textile museum, the first of its kind in Nigeria to provide functional platform for research into Nigerian traditional textile industry in the Federal Capital Territory area of Abuja.

In furtherance of these noble endeavors, Nike is currently the managing director and founder of the following organisations in Nigeria; Nike Art Productions Limited, which she incorporated in 1994, Nike Art Gallery Limited, which she incorporated in 2007 and the Nike Research Centre for Art and Culture Limited, incorporated in 2007. Also in 2007, she founded the Nike Art and Culture Foundation with some eminent Nigerians as trustees, with the aims and objectives of fostering Nigerian cultural heritage.

Mrs. Davis-Okundaye says the purpose of her setting up Art Galleries in Oshogbo, Lagos, Abuja is to promote Nigerian culture and leave a legacy for coming artists. In the building are arts in form of painting, tie and dye, adire, batik, carvings, sculpture and the likes. These are expressions of individuals' minds or perceptions. It also serves as a tourist centre for visitors while artists hold exhibition there.

What Next for Her?
She says her next move is to present Nigerian art to the world 'in a way that people can just admire the beauty of our art'. In this vein, she advises artistes to get more involved in marketing Nigerian arts to the world. 'Once our art is marketed to the world, people can value the art more and come to appreciate it better,' she said.

any comments, appreciations, guesses, suggestions and opinions are welcome, for instance about origin, probable age, degree of authenticity (really used, traditionally made but not really used, copy/fake...), value...

Pictures / photos / images of some TEXTILES
in the collection of antique, classical, ethnic, ethnographic, ethno-tribal, native, ritual, traditional, tribal, so-called "primitive" art from Sub-Saharan black Africa

Old ceremonial complete, multi-panel skirts / tcaka / ntshak / ntsak, with patchwork / pagne;
Wickelgewand / Wickeltuch
of the Bakuba / Kuba / Bushong / Bushoong / Bushongo / Ngeende / Ngongo tribe/people
from Congo / DRC / formerly Zaire

Piece 1. Natural ochre colour.

Piece 2. Dyed warm red.

Piece 3: red and ochre combined

See also:

Books published on traditional, tribal, ethnic African art

Books and other documents published before 2000, available for sale or by exchange
Books and other documents published in 2000 and later, available for sale or by exchange

Masks and headdresses in the African art collection

Statues, sculptures, fetishes, dolls, figures in the African art collection

Textiles in the African art collection

Masks and other pieces / objects available from the African art collection

Motivations for studying and collecting traditional African art

Links to other WWW sites on traditional, tribal, ethnic African art

The pages of this WWW site have received a link from the following other WWW sites and pages:

Pictures / photos / images of some TEXTILES in the collection of antique, classical, ethnic, ethnographic, ethno-tribal, native, ritual, traditional, tribal, so-called "primitive" art from Sub-Saharan black Africa

Old ceremonial complete, multi-panel skirts / tcaka / ntshak / ntsak, with patchwork / pagne; Wickelgewand / Wickeltuch of the Bakuba / Kuba / Bushong / Bushoong / Bushongo / Ngeende / Ngongo tribe/people from Congo / DRC / formerly Zaire

Piece 1. Natural ochre colour.

Piece 2. Dyed warm red.

Piece 3: red and ochre combined

See also:

The pages of this WWW site have received a link from the following other WWW sites and pages:

Pictures / photos / images of some TEXTILES
in the collection of antique, classical, ethnic, ethnographic, ethno-tribal, native, ritual, traditional, tribal, so-called "primitive" art from Sub-Saharan black Africa

Old ceremonial complete, multi-panel skirts / tcaka / ntshak / ntsak, with patchwork / pagne;
Wickelgewand / Wickeltuch
of the Bakuba / Kuba / Bushong / Bushoong / Bushongo / Ngeende / Ngongo tribe/people
from Congo / DRC / formerly Zaire