Young Woman's Bògòlanfini Wrapper (N'Gale)

Description

The zigzag lines that run through the bands of this Bamana bògòlanfini wrapper are known as fini n’goloni sirakele, or “one twisted road.” Historically these textiles were used to make men’s hunter shirts or women’s wrappers and skirts. Women wore bògòlanfini for significant life transitions, such as after childbirth or as a burial shroud. In recent decades these widely recognizable graphic patterns have begun to reach a more global audience. They appear in a variety of commercial goods, ranging from upholstery and high fashion textiles to wrapping paper and book covers.

Provenance

Commissioned by Sarah Brett-Smith, Mali and Highland Park, NJ, July 1988 [according to correspondence from S. Brett-Smith, textile was commissioned through Fatmata Traorde, Mali; invoice #1989-1, Apr. 19, 1989; incoming receipt RX17928, Aug. 24, 1989; copy in curatorial object file]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1989.

Young Woman's Bògòlanfini Wrapper (N'Gale)

Djowari Suko

1988

Accession Number

111167

Medium

Cotton, eight narrow strips of plain weave; pieced; resist painted and printed

Dimensions

124.7 × 95.2 cm (49 1/8 × 37 1/2 in.); Approximate strip: W.: 12.1 cm (4 3/4 in.)

Classification

textile

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by the Textile Society