Barkcloth, pigments, plant fibersexpand_more
The John and Shirley Nilsen Endowment for Art Acquisitionexpand_more 2019.2
To make barkcloth, a traditional form of clothing, Mbuti men collect pieces of the inner bark of fig trees, ranging in color from white to reddish brown, and pound them until they are thin and pliable. Mbuti women decorate the surfaces with intricate designs, using twigs and their fingers to apply dyes made from plant saps and charcoal powder. This particular example shows additional embellishment. Notice the stitching on the surface and along the edges, whose motifs mirror the painted decorations.
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