Vintage Mali mud cloth pillow – single sided in Rust/Black

$95.00

1 in stock

Vintage Mali Bogolanfini or "mud-cloth" cotton textile, now a 20" x 20" pillow cover, the narrow strip cloth dyed in different colors. Geometric pattern mud-cloth front and linen back. Made in Asheville!

Bogolanfini textiles are closely associated with the Bamana people of Mali. The cloth is cotton, woven on narrow looms and sewn together to produce pieces used for clothing, mostly men's shirts and women's skirts. The geometric designs are dyed using zinc oxide or "mud" and often have rows of circles, crosses, zig-zag lines, and other motifs. These motifs have important meaning to the Bamana people,  referring to historical events, mythological subjects, and are often hidden "coded" subjects, which only the "initiated" can understand.