This months subject is Silk. There is a small amount of native silk in Africa. Magagascar is well known for it's silk, both local and introduced. A lesser known silk found in West African is woven into beige cloths known as Sanyan (Nigeria). The cloth is rough and heavy and not at all like Chinese silk. The background of this piece is a Sanyan cloth - it may be silk - but probably is not, but it's the closest I can get! The purple distressed piece is more than likely silk. It is a wonderful scrap that I found while rooting through the many bags of scraps that my friend Akwazi hoards. Akwazi is a Kente cloth dealer, he spends many hours repairing old kente cloths - so his bags of scraps are a) useful to him and b) an absolute delight to root through!! This piece has certainly lived a life. The silk for this cloth would have been imported from Europe, either across the Sahara desert or by ship to the Gold Coast. At one time imported silk cloth was bought by the weavers, unravelled and then used in their own work. The bobbin of yarn is to represent this idea. The pattern in the warp - the three crooked gold lines is called 'Liars cloth'. Once worn by the king or chief to put off Liars in his court. 
I do envy you being able to root through those bags of Akwazi's! Really interesting the background to the Liars cloth - lovely vibrant colours in the kente cloth.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting to read the history of all the cloth. Silk interests me as we live in an old magnanerie where the silk worms were grown and kept, here in the S of France. We even found some old cocoons hidden in the beams! Love the addition of the bobbin of yarn as well.
ReplyDelete