Mossi Woman's Wrap / Skirt

Dense columns of white beads and long dashes crowd a dark indigo field.

This woman's wrap or skirt is Mossi, from Burkina Faso, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is woven cotton & indigo. Indigo is a plant dye that gives cotton a deep blue, and the cloth is dipped repeatedly, then exposed to air so the color develops. Vertical cloth with a lattice of small round spots, elongated dashes and fine lines. The blue is deep with lighter streaks, and the bottom edge ends in a tangle of loose threads. It is 56 inches long and 43.5 in diameter.

Busy on the surface, patient in construction.