Currency or Wealth Cloth DR Congo (Kasai?) Late 19th/early 20th century Raffia palm fiber, natural dyes, plain weave with weft floats and cut-pile embroidery 31 x 26 inches (77.5 x 65 cm) Finely woven, fringed squares of raffia cloth, typically unpatterned or decorated with simple stripes or plaids, circulated in great quantities across pre-colonial Congo. The textiles were signifiers of wealth and tribute as well as commodities for trade, bridewealth, and other cultural exchanges – hence the term “currency cloth” bestowed on them by Europeans. Originating from an unidentified group, this distinctive panel is a more elaborate version with a complex design produced by the weft-float weave and striations of warp-dyed fiber, either randomly or intentionally placed. Clusters of intersecting brown vertical and black horizontal lines of variable widths generate an ordered, rhythmical modular composition that plays with the perception of dark and light, shadow and reflection, and multiple textures. This subtle surface is punctuated by small blocks of cut-pile embroidery and surprisingly enhanced by the effects of time and use that have resulted in some fiber erosion. The minimalist style, so evocative of modernist and contemporary Bauhaus-influenced fiber art (Albers, Sekimach et al) exhibits the spirit of experimentalism seen in the most masterful woven and embroidered raffia compositions from Congo traditions. Price on request
