KUBA_Bushoong

KUBA_Bushoong

Nepalese hand-knotted carpet
100 knot /sq. inch -9 Colours
100% Tibetan Wool & Chinese Silk
150"w x 182"l /3.81m x4.6m

The rich tones and plush textural pile heights of the KUBA Carpet Designs were inspired by African textiles from the KUBA Kingdom, now located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This carpet was named for the Bushoong people, one of the Bantu-speaking ethnic groups that make up the Kingdom.

Famous worldwide for their bold asymmetrical patterns, KUBA textiles are in many major museum collections and have inspired artists like Henri Matisse.

This carpet design began with photographs of several pieces of KUBA Cloth in my collection which were digitally transformed using several software programs to create the knot-for-knot pattern which the Nepalese weavers follow.

KUBA CLOTH

Excerpts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art - KUBA Textile Collection:

"The various stages of textile preparation, production, and adornment engage the collaborative efforts and skills of all members of Kuba society. The cultivation of raffia palm and its subsequent weaving on a vertical heddle loom are the responsibility of men. Individual woven units (mbala) are relatively standardized panels that women embroider with dyed raffia to create a plush pile. These cloths are intended as independent prestige items.

The classic techniques have been applied by female embroiderers over the centuries with considerable innovation and have yielded a dazzling spectrum of formal solutions. Distinctive motifs introduced into the Kuba repertory are assigned names that often acknowledge the ingenuity of individual designers. This spirit of invention has led to a proliferation of textile designs. Literally hundreds exist, many of which are named after individuals such as the king or the textile artists who first created them. Other patterns bear names referring to elements that range from eyebrows to smoke, or the scaly backs of crocodiles.”