Wrapper (Lamba Akotifahana) (1800s): Art, History and Details

Wrapper (Lamba Akotifahana) (1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

A lamba is an untailored textile worn by all ages, classes, and genders across much of Madagascar. The lamba akotifahana takes its name from the weft-float motifs (akotifahana) that adorn it. Weavers added extra weft (horizontal) threads to make them. Representing the final production of lamba akotifahana during the Merina Kingdom before French colonization (1897), this example is densely covered with motifs.

Object facts

• Title: Wrapper (Lamba Akotifahana)
• Date: 1800s
• Culture: Madagascar, Merina Kingdom
• Type: Textile
• Technique: Silk
• Dimensions: Overall: 175 x 226 cm (68 7/8 x 89 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2025.272

A detail from the museum

The motifs on this weaving are not symbolic; the weaver chose them for aesthetic reasons.

Collection credit

Sundry Art - African Art Fund and Textile Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.