Textile

Item number Af490 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Description

Large rectangular piece of fabric made from narrow strips of woven cotton sewn together; white or natural cotton weft with green warp. Two sided supplementary weft patterning in yellow concentric squares, yellow rectangles, complex yellow pattern with stripes and joined hexagons, and red regular rectangles, at regular intervals of 50 to 55 cm. along the strips. Both ends hemmed; edges finished. Typical strip width: 9-10 cm.

History Of Use

West African narrow strip weaving must have begun by the 10th century. Similar examples from the 13th century exist. The tradition may have originated in Arabic North Africa, Egypt, or the Near East, but no definitive answer has been found. Strips are made by men only, typically in 8 to 15 cm. widths, on a variety of loom types. They are sewn together to make material used for garments and other fabric products.