Posted 3 years ago
bafade
(1 item)
When cleaning out my Mom's belongings after she passed away in December of this year, I ran across this blanket. I had completely forgot that she had purchased at a Antique Store somewhere between our home in Oklahoma City to Arizona many years ago. If anyone can assist me with the patterns as well as the yarn I would greatly appreciate it. The pattern is hand dyed or painted and the yarn looks like gunny sack.
Thank You,
Beth
Love it. Thirties ???
This is a section of African "mud cloth," a traditional craft from Mali, in western Africa. The name in the Bambara language is "bògòlanfini," which translates as "earth" or "mud" cloth, since the decorations were originally made using fermented mud. It was first produced in Mali, as long ago as the 1300s, but has recently been made in nearby African countries for export, starting in about the 1980s.
This piece probably dates no earlier than the last 30 years or so, since the colors gradually change with age, and on any piece older, the dark black would have turned to a dark brown.
Mud cloth was traditionally made from woven cotton fabric strips, made by the men, and dyed by the women.
Whole books have been written about the meaning of the design pattern, so your best bet is to do a web search for "Mali mud cloth symbols," keeping in mind that not everyone agrees on what they mean, and sometimes only the person making the cloth does.