Married Woman's Bògòlanfini Wrapper
1988
Designed and executed by Jege Coulibaly (active 20th century) Bamana Mali, Beledougou, Ngalafouga
Mali
The women who create these mud-dyed bògòlanfini cloths follow a complicated and time-consuming process. First, they wash and beat the plain-woven cloth several times to soften it, then stain it with a mustard-yellow color to enhance the rich, dark brown-black of the final product. They next apply several layers of a fermented mud solution using a small iron spatula or bamboo stick to mark out the overall design. Finally, they retrace the lighter areas in the patterns with a whitening substance to create contrast. This wrapper features a standard traditional composition divided into five sections.
Cotton, eight narrow strips of plain weave; pieced; resist painted and printed