Artwork Page for Blanket or Cover (Kaasa)

Details / Information for Blanket or Cover (Kaasa)

Blanket or Cover (Kaasa)

c. 1930s or earlier

Africa; West Africa; Mali, Niger, or Burkina Faso; Fulani (Peul) style; unknown weavers

Medium
Wool, dye
Measurements
Overall: 217.8 x 126.4 cm (85 3/4 x 49 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Alma Kroeger Fund 2024.72
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Weavers don’t make sketches to plan the design for this textile but recall it from memory instead.

Description

Made on order, this blanket was hand woven in six strips that were sewn together at the selvages to make the full textile. Repeated named, symbolic geometric motifs in deep browns, blacks, and reds create an overall sense of rhythmic dynamism as naturally dyed colored floated weft (horizontal) threads dance in and out of the undyed cream-colored wool base textile. Some motifs have ties to Islam, as the Fulani were among the first West Africans to convert, or to nearby Tuareg cultures.
A horizontally rectangular wool textile consists of six joined panels. Three central vertical columns feature dark-brown geometric patterns of stacked triangles and diamonds. Two solid dark-red bands flank these columns, while small cross-like motifs repeat along the far left and right. The thick, cream-colored cloth has slightly uneven, wavy borders. Ornate geometric shapes cap the top and bottom of each central column, completing the symmetrical design.

Blanket or Cover (Kaasa)

c. 1930s or earlier

Africa; West Africa; Mali, Niger, or Burkina Faso; Fulani (Peul) style; unknown weavers

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