Mud-dyed cloth called Bògòlanfini is a traditional textile of the Bamana people of Mali in West Africa. Nakunte Diarra, a contemporary Bògòlanfini master, dyed the cloth inspiring this MouseRug design using a complicated process in which the mud dye is applied in the spaces around and between the pattern lines. Her cloths are marked by a sharp contrast between the dark mud dye and the light patterns, a variety of designs, and crisp, clear lines, all characteristics of fine Bògòlanfini.
Kuba cloths are woven from thin strands cut from raffia palm leaves – a skill still widely practiced in Africa today. The men weave the simple cloths and the women embellish the cloths with embroidered raffia borders and graphic geometric patterns. This MouseRug resembles one such beautiful pattern.
