We do not recommend laundering textiles, and do not accept returns of textiles which have been laundered in any manner.  Even dry cleaning is too much for some of these antique textiles.  For some of them, a very gentle HAND washing  (NEVER MACHINE, on any setting)  in cool water with a very gentle detergent works, but even then, dyes may not be colorfast, and fabric may be less strong than it appears. Additional Information:  An extraordinary textile! This was made in the Kuba Kingdom, which is in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire. Men did the weaving, women did the dying and embroidery. Raffia, which comes from the raffia palm tree, is notoriously difficult to work with. Soaking and pounding were both used to soften the fibers. Each piece took months to make. Matisse was hugely influenced by these textiles, and had a number of them in his bedroom. This is your chance to purchase an original--Matisse made copies! I have written a book on them. See Elizabeth S. Bennett and Niangi Batulukisi Ph.D., Kuba Textiles & Design , AfricaDirect Inc., 2009, 41 pages. 28 full color photographs, paperback.See a close similar piece on p. 7, fig. 1 The following are excerpts from Kuba Textiles and Design : "In sub-Saharan Africa, where representative art has flourished for centuries, carvers and crafts people have typically taken for their subjects human figures, animals, plants, and elements of the natural world. Abstract art, meanwhile, has remained marginal. The textiles of the BaKuba (Kuba) people of the Democratic Republic of Congo are an exception. Although part of a tradition that stretches back 400 years, Kuba textiles have a strikingly modern look. They use improvised systems of signs, lines, colors, and textures, often in the form of complex geometric rectilinear patterns. Their appliqués are reminiscent of works by 19th- and 20th-century masters like Matisse, Picasso, Klee, Penck, and Chellida. This is no coincidence: all...

• Materials: Raffia Palm Fibers
• Country of Origin: Democractic Republic of Congo
• Dimensions: Height: 24 InchesWidth: 25.5 Inches
• People: Kuba

Materials: Raffia Palm FibersAfrica Direct