Eight textiles "bilaam"
D. R. Congo, Kuba-Shoowa / Bushoong
not available anymore
Provenance
Roger de Vloo, Belgian missionary (collected in situ)Size
M: 25 cm x 58 cm - 37,5 cm x 64 cm
M: 9.8 inch x 22.8 inch - 14.8 inch x 25.2 inch
Description
fibres of the raffia palm “raphia vinifera”, with embroidery and velvet (“Kasai plush”), alternating graphic ornaments, various sizes
The size of a cloth (sing. “mbal”, pl. “bilaam”) was given by the natural length of the raffia fibres. In former times they were used as medium of exchange on the local markets. For the voluminous loinclothes many “bilaam” were sewn together.