Currently not on view
Kpokpo or kpoikpoi prestige cloth,
before 1933
Artist unrecorded
Mende | Vai
2019-25
Likely held in the collection of a village chief or a senior woman, this prestige cloth was woven on a tripod loom. A highly skilled Mende or Vai weaver composed its complex design, with the central block of four contrasting black and white rectangles forming the base for the symmetrical array of stepped patterns around the central block. Such textiles often served as backdrops for important life events. This one would have hung on the wall to commemorate title-taking or initiation ceremonies for the regional Poro and Sande initiation society. The textile might have accompanied an event that incorporated the Sande society helmet masks on view nearby.
Information
Title
Kpokpo or kpoikpoi prestige cloth
Dates
before 1933
Maker
Medium
Cotton and dye
Dimensions
238.8 × 163.8 cm (94 × 64 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Hugh Leander Adams, Mary Trumbull Adams and Hugh Trumbull Adams Princeton Art Fund, and anonymous gift
Object Number
2019-25
Place Made
Africa, Liberia
Type
Materials
Techniques
Acquired by private collection in or around Harbel, Liberia, ca. 1933–35; purchased by unidentified owner; donated to unidentified owner; bequeathed to private collection, Seattle, WA; [purchased by Adire African Textiles, London, UK, 2018]; purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum Princeton, NJ, 2019.
