Monumental Royal Display Ndop Cloth (ntieya) with Leopards

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Monumental Royal Display Ndop Cloth (ntieya) with Leopards

1880–1900

Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Grassfields Region

Medium

Cotton, indigo

Measurements

Overall: 100 x 900 cm (39 3/8 x 354 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Sundry Art - African Art Fund and Textile Fund 2025.274

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Male and female specialists collaborate to make ndop, a strip-woven indigo-dyed textile.

Description

Staggeringly large ndop royal display cloths were meant to impress in the Cameroon Grassfields kingdoms. Large-scale royal ntieya, like this example, are the rarest in the ndop genre. Paired leopards stalk across its length, one of the primary symbols of Grassfields leaders. The cloth’s other geometric motifs are equally rich with meaning. For example, the triangle-filled lozenge evokes the crocodile, symbolizing royal power and fecundity.