Fulani / Tuareg Textile - Wedding Blanket (Arkilla Jengo)
An antique wedding textile made by the Fulani people for the Tuareg people of Mali, a nomadic group who do not produce textiles but instead rely onweavers from neighbouring regions to supply cloth for tents and beds. Itinerant Fulani weavers travel to Tuareg encampments to weave tent dividers or bed covers. This large chequered textiles is made as a highly prestigious hanging at a high status wedding while also used as a blanket.
Woven on a narrow loom and sewn selvedge to selvedge, the warp is made of cotton and the weft wool.
Although the Fulani weavers utilise the same loom, materials and techniques for these particular textiles as for their own blankets, the design is quite different from traditional Fulani textiles.
Measures 133 x 228 cm.