Mud Cloth, also known as Bogolan or Bogolanfini
The Bambara residents of Djenne, Mali, claim that the technique of producing Bogolan originated in their fabled mud city. In the Bambara language, bogo means mud, lan, to be made of, and fini which means cloth.
The cloth originates as narrow strips of white cotton cloth which is hand woven by men on shuttle looms. The narrow strips are sewn together to produce the desired size before being handed over to the ladies for dying and decorating.
The rich black color seen in the bold pattern in this piece of bogolan is created by using fermented mud, often collected from the Niger River.
Each piece of bogolan is made entirely by hand and some evenness can be expected.
Measures Approximately 70-73" x 40-47"
