Mbuti Barkcloth Panel, Democratic Republic of Congo

Bold arcs sweep across a cream ground, each drawn in double and triple lines.

Mbuti artists of the Ituri Forest, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, painted this barkcloth panel with pigment in the 20th century. Barkcloth there is traditionally a beaten product of the forest and is commonly worn as a wrap, with motifs drawn freehand. Crescents and long curves in thin parallel lines fall in different directions along this narrow sheet, with a few smaller scrolls between them. The ink is dark and thin, and the pale surface has a slight wrinkle along one side.

About 35 by 12 inches. Movement without noise.