Skirt (Nshak)

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-principal attire (lower body)

Culture Kuba

Dateearly to mid 20th Century

Made AtDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Africa

MediumRaffia, cotton thread and pigment

Dimensions20 1/8 × 187 in. (51.1 × 475 cm)

Credit LineGift of Anne and Long Shung Shih

Object number2019.15.45

DescriptionNshak are midcalf-length skirts worn by Kuba women in the Democratic Republic of Congo made of red and white raffia weaving. Usually, men will make the base cloth, a process that includes dyeing and softening raffia leaves and then weaving them into cloth, and women will decorate the skirts with embroidery in black thread or patches of cloth. Nshak are often betrothal gifts woven for a bride by her husband-to-be and decorated by his female relatives.

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