Throughout the world, silk is used to make cloth and associated with wealth and status, but this rare, natural fiber is also indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. Silk was traded between African peoples across the continent and was also imported from Europe, India, China, and the Middle East. This installation of cloths drawn from the DMA permanent collection explores the production of silk and silk textiles in Ghana, Nigeria, and Madagascar.
Focus Installation
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Moth to Cloth: Silk in Africa is organized by the Dallas Museum of Art. The Dallas Museum of Art is supported, in part, by the generosity of DMA Members and donors, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.
Images: Woman's Kente, Ghana, Asante peoples, c. 1920s – 1940, cotton and silk, Dallas Museum of Art, African Collection Fund, 2017.20.4; Man's prestige robe (riga or agbada), Nigeria, Yoruba or Hausa, 1900–1950, wild silk and cotton, Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 2013.25.4; Man's prestige robe (agbada) and trousers, Nigeria, Yoruba peoples, early 20th century, cotton, silk, and indigo, Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 2013.25.2.A-B; Lamba akotifahana, Madagascar, Malagasy peoples, Merina group, mid- to late 19th century, silk, Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 2019.75