Kpokpo Cloth

Country cloth is a thick, heavy, cloth, traditionally made from locally grown cotton that is spun into thread, dyed, and woven into strips on a tripod loom. The strips are then sewn together edge to edge to form the finished cloth. Such cloth was, in the past, regarded as a sign or wealth and Prestige. This is an example of kpokpoi, or kpokpo, cloth, relating to country cloth made up of strips of varying colours and patterns, used to make a larger, more complex, pattern. This example consists of eight strips, with blocks of dark blue, light blue, yellow, green, buff, and undyed, weft. Sewn together, they create six central strips, decorated in geometric bands. The central section of the cloth has representations of two houses, suggesting the cloth may have been made to hang, and be viewed horizontally.

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Further Information

  • Type: Textiles, cloth
  • Object: Kpokpo Cloth
  • Materials: Textile
  • Culture Group: Mende, Sherbro
  • Dimensions: 3200mm [L] x 1450mm [W]
  • Production Date: Pre 1934
  • Associated Places: Unknown
  • Associated People: Charles A. Beving
  • Museum: British Museum
  • Accession Number: BM:Af.1934.307.179

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