Artwork Details
Culture
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
64 x 41 in.
Accession Number
Credit Line
Emma Harter Sweetser Fund
Copyright
Collection
Color Palette
Provenance
A Brazilian collector, living on the Ivory Coast, in the 1980s; Hiroshi Ogawa, Tokyo, about 1992; (Thomas Murray Asiatica-Ethnographica, Mill Valley, California) in 1997;{1} purchased by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2006 (2006.73). {1} All information from Thomas Murray, in correspondence with Niloo Imami-Paydar of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, emailed 14 July 2006.
Gallery Labels
Dida women used fibers from the leaves of the raffia palm to produce a wide range of textiles, including seamless tubular garments, kerchiefs, and prestigious men’s ceremonial capes. The complex and time-consuming process of making these semi-transparent cloths involved a technique similar to plaiting that did not require the use of a loom. The cloths were then tie-dyed in brilliant earth-tone colors. The sizes of the cloths were limited by the lengths of the palm leaves.
These garments and shawls were worn during social events such as engagements, marriages, and other life celebrations. The Dida people also used tubular raffia cloths in funerals and may have used them in burials as shrouds.
Exhibition History
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
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