Bed cover
Category
Textiles
Date
1980 - 2000
Materials
Grass Dye Cowry Shells
Measurements
620 x 3370 mm
Order this imageCollection
575 Wandsworth Road, London
NT 1512656
Summary
This long textile runner is most likely made from raffia, which is made from the Raphia Farinifera palm tree common in sub-Saharan Africa. The leaves are removed and split by hand, and the strands are left to dry in the sun, turning from green to straw-coloured. Raffia is often dyed at this point before weaving. The central panel of this runner is made from black dyed raffia, with the sections on the left and right in the natural colour. The central panel of the runner has been decorated with cowrie shells, which are found predominantly in the Indian Ocean. The central panel also has tie dye decoration, which suggests it could be an example of Kuba cloth from the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Dida raffia from Côte d'Ivoire.
Provenance
Bequeathed to the National Trust by Khadambi Asalache upon his death in 2006; acquired fully in November 2010.