Designing dynamism : Kuba textiles from the D R Congo, the Wesley Mancini collection /
"The textile designs of the Kuba people of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo are outstanding examples of dynamic pattern design and inventive textile technologies. The historic textiles were made for tribute, funerary offerings, and ceremonial attire, expressing wealth and status, by...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Lewes :
GILES,
2026.
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| Summary: | "The textile designs of the Kuba people of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo are outstanding examples of dynamic pattern design and inventive textile technologies. The historic textiles were made for tribute, funerary offerings, and ceremonial attire, expressing wealth and status, by members of various groups in the multi-ethnic Kuba kingdom. Exceptional in their graphic sophistication, geometric abstractions, and predilection for asymmetry and discontinuous surface design, they were created for Kuba aristocracy and high-ranking title holders. Western dignitaries admired the sumptuous surface of the textiles that were acquired for both liturgical and royal collections. By the late nineteenth century Kuba textiles appeared on the market in Europe, and by the early 20th century were acquired by artists such as Henri Matisse, Suzanna Valadon, and Sonia Delaunay. Designing Dynamism will feature the most technologically complex and visually potent of all Kuba textiles, the prestige squares. Woven by men and boys of raffia fibers, the cloth is then covered with flat embroidery stitches or cut pile, resembling velvet, by women. The rhythmic offbeat register of the pattern motifs is enlivened by the strong contrast of the dark and light natural colors. Included in the exhibition will be examples of women's overskirts, a ceremonial skirt, two Kuba beaded belt designs, a carved pigment box, and a few examples of modern and contemporary textile designs influenced by the Kuba aesthetic will also be included, such as those by Wesley Mancini, Charlotte based textile designer and collector. The exhibition will be accompanied by a scholarly and lavishly illustrated catalogue by D Giles Ltd, edited by Annie Carlano, with a major essay by independent scholar Vanessa Drake Moraga and contributions by Carlano and by designer Stepen Burks, who will also design the exhibition and interactive space"-- |
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| Item Description: | Published to coincide with the exhibition, 'Designing Dynamism: Kuba textiles from D R Congo, The Wesley Mancini Collection;, organized by The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina, February 21-August 24, 2026. |
| Physical Description: | 95 pages : color illustrations ; 27 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |
| ISBN: | 9781913875893 191387589X |