Bogolanfini Woman’s Wrapper (Mali), mid-20th century

Woman’s wrapper consisting of eight 5 1/2 inch wide strips of handwoven cotton, sewn together to make a panel. The center field is divided into six squares separated by bands of H-shaped “airplane” motifs. Each square is patterned with incomplete diamonds with a dot in the center, radiating out from a center dot in a petal-like arrangement. The outer and lower borders use the same motifs as the center field. The upper border (when worn, seen here on the left) has scattered white dots. The inner border (when worn) interlocking triangles. With guard borders of narrow zigzags. Design is reserved in white on a dyed brownish-black ground.