Man's Garment (possibly early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Man's Garment (possibly early 1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Displayed flat to highlight its designs and preserve its delicate fibers, this wrapper was meant to drape around the body. An elite man wore it with one corner over a shoulder, the knotted fringe skimming his ankles. The garment gained its earth-toned geometric patterns through plangi, a knot-and-twist resist dyeing technique; each color is applied in a different dye bath, from lightest to darkest. While their patterns are unique, these garments reflect regional influence: Dida women likely learned hand interlacing from Liberian Kpelle weavers. Such garments were given as gifts or worn on special occasions, at least into the 1990s.

Object facts

• Title: Man's Garment
• Date: possibly early 1900s
• Culture: Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Dida-style weavers and dyers
• Type: Textile
• Technique: Raffia palm fiber (Raphia ruffia or R. vinifera) and dye
• Dimensions: Overall: 169.8 x 211.5 cm (66 7/8 x 83 1/4 in.)
• Collection: T - African
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 2003.89

A detail from the museum

The tying of fabric during the making of this garment gives its surface a distinctively "crinkled" texture.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Adams, Monni, and T. Rose Holdcraft. 1992. “Dida Woven Raffia Cloth from Côte D'ivoire.” African Arts 25 (3): 42–101.
• Gillow, John. African Textiles: Colour and Creativity Across a Continent. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003.

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.