Art Institute of Chicago

Robe (Boubou Lomasa)

Soninke

Date

Late 19th century

Medium

Handspun cotton, indigo dye; polychrome silk and cotton; strip weave, hand embroidery

Culture

Senegal

Department

Arts of Africa

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This type of robe was worn by chiefs, dignitaries, emirs, and other high-ranking men in 19th-century West Africa. It marked the wearer’s standing and prestige, and also identified him as a Muslim. The talismanic motifs were typically designed and stitched by Qur’anic scholars who found inspiration in Arabic texts. Soninke women no longer practice these embroidery styles and indigo-dyeing techniques, which impacted the weaving traditions of a vast region north and south of the Sahara.

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