Woven

Text for web exhibition “From near and far” presented on the Bohusläns Museum website 2009 - 2013: Tissue of rafiabast with embroidered pattern, parts of the patterns have a river character, 67 x 60 cm. The patterns, covering the entire woven tuskraft base, consist of lines, on the one hand, and of surfaces with velvet or floss character. Typical is that the pattern shapes suddenly change character and the symmetry is sabotaged in a liberating way. The back is almost monochrome, the embroidery is visible only in slight relief. The broom comes from the long leaf of the rafia-palm, Rafhia farinifera. The leaves can reach up to 20 meters long. In Sweden we meet the material under the name of a gardener’s broom. Textiles of this kind were made in the Kasai region in the southern part of the Belgian Congo, the present Democratic Republic of the Congo. There, dating from the 16th century, the Kuba kingdom was known for its very special and highly regarded embroidery technique. It was the men who weaved, while the women embroidered the geometric patterns in these prestige textiles, sometimes used as a means of payment. Gift of the Sjökapten and the Knight Elmer Göransson in 1961. Donor details During his 30-year stay in the Belgian Congo, Elmer Göransson (1872-1964) managed transports on the country’s rivers for many years. When he completed his service in 1932, he was both a ship inspector for the entire Belgian fleet in the upper Congo, t. f. Head of the Hydrographic Service and Captain at Leopoldville. He was a collector of i.a. arms, textiles and wooden vessels. In 1919 rounds, Göransson turned African objects into the Uddevalla Museum. He came to be one of the museum association’s honorary members. At his demise in 1964, he resided in Kungsbacka. Article in Bohusläningen from Monday 1 November 1937. “Vittberesta bohuslänens tell. Experiences during a 30-year stay in Belgian Congo. Captain Elmer Göransson. People and customs under the glowing sun of the equator.” Continent: Africa Information on a patchwork card: Carpet, 67 x 60 cm. Geometric pattern in yellow and brown on a pale cut bottom. Of rafia. Flossaliken. Technology as 61.03.076. Congo, Africa According to the literature, tissues of this kind were made by tribes living in the area of Kasai in the south of former Belgian Congo, later Zaire. It is talked about in the 16th century the Kuba kingdom. A people within Cuba, the Shoowa tribe, were known for their very special and highly regarded embroidery technique. It was the men in the Shoowa tribe who weaved, while the women embroidered the geometric patterns. Sicksack shaped embroidered pattern in yellow and brown against lighter yellow-white tusket base. Flow character on parts of the embroidery. The canals on the tissue are folded and furrowed to the front with stiffening; the furrow is facing the back and sewn with stiffening. Literature: Article in Hemslöjden nr 4/1990, “The sabotaged symmetry,” Olle Nessle, p. 14-15. Information about E. Göransson in Knut Adrian Andersson’s catalog and history of the collection: See UM61.03.001 In English: Cut-pile raphia, the so-In Kasai velvets. Bakuba, Zaire.