Zaire Kuba Woven Raffia Skirt/Embroidery, Stitch Design/12”x50"/Estate Purchase

Description

Beautiful raffia woven dance skirt: A wonderful, abstract, modernist, design with a dark brown center that has dyed shapes and zig-zag embroidered cut work areas, as well as tan edges with more embroidery. Made by the Kuba (Bakuba) people of Zaire/DR Congo. Textile is 12" W x 50" L, and in excellent condition with no major damage.
Kuba textiles are said to have a 400 year history, and were discovered and collected by early Europeans, especially the Belgians who took them back to Europe after seeing them in the 1700's while exploring what was to become the Belgium Congo. Modern artists such as Matisse, Picasso, Klee, and others collected and were influenced by the contemporary designs of the Kuba textiles in their own works.
The Kuba works I will be listing came from the estate of a Santa Fe long time collector and dealer in ethnographic art, especially works from Africa. One of his specialties was textiles from the Congo, including a VAST collection of Kuba items which I have just acquired. His collecting started in the 1960's and 70's, when he had a gallery in Santa Fe, and there were many old and rare items at the estate sales of his large collection. Pieces from him have been exhibited and donated to many museums in the United States, and in 1996 the Auckland Museum in New Zealand had an exhibition of his Kuba textiles.
(0477)
_gsrx_vers_775 (GS 7.0.3 (775))