Tag: Central Africa

NOW: Kinzembe, Nkutu, or Zamba kya mfumu – Kongalese Prestige Cape 1962.1.14

This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week comes from Central Africa. There are quite a few of these beautifully fine Prestige Capes from the former Kingdom of Kongo now in museums around the world. I was honored to be able to examine this particular one closely. Until you are in the presence of one, it is hard to comprehend just how delicate and fine this complex compound nalbinding is; and then you add in the openwork patterning. Definitely breathtaking.

Photo Credit: Textile Museum Acquisition – Public Domain

Object: Kinzembe,1 Nkutu,2 or Zamba kya mfumu3 – Kongalese Prestige Cape

Description: A stunningly fine raffia cape worked in a trebly intralaced compound nalbinding stitch with an openwork zigzag pattern. The neck opening has a layer of Simple Looping around the edge. The outer edges have raffia fringe knotted onto them. The front and back rows have strings knotted on every few stitches from which the handle-like tassels are suspended. This cape has one both front and back. Some also have them off the sides.

There is an illustration of an etching, based on a photograph, that was made ca. 1880 of a Chief in Full Dress Attire wearing a nkutu on page 73 of Kongo: Power and Majesty.

Dated to: 19th century CE4

Find location: Democratic Republic of Congo, what was southern Zaire.5

Material: raffia6

Stitch(es) used: B1 UU/OO/UU/OOU as determined by Anne Marie Decker during her examination of the object on 14 June 2023. The row heights are very fine for this compound of a nalbinding stitch; around 5/8ths of an inch. There is a single row of Z-crossed Simple Looping, F1 O, around the neck opening.

The Textile Museum specifies that the structure is “looping,” but not the specific stitch used.7 This type of cape has also been misidentified as sprang8 in other examples, but they are not.

So far, the only other place where we see other stitches in the same trebly intralaced family of stitches is in the Omani stitch sock as described by Peter Collingwood (the only example of that particular stitch out of Oman that has been found so far).

Inventory number: Accession Number: 1962.1.14

Current location: The Textile Museum

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://collections-gwu.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/11243/

Some sources in which more information can be found:

LaGamma, Alisa, ed. Kongo: Power and Majesty. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. ISBN 978-1-58839-575-7

Photographs:

Photos of this and several other examples of Kinzembe, Nkutu, or Zamba kya mfumu can be seen at Some of the fashion accessories used in the Kongo Kingdom – Raffia textiles

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  1. https://collections-gwu.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/11243/ ↩︎
  2. The Brooklyn Museum uses the term nkutu for the Prestige Cape in their collection: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/13009 as does the British Museum with the one in their collection: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1853-0713-1 ↩︎
  3. https://collections-gwu.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/11243/ ↩︎
  4. https://collections-gwu.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/11243/ ↩︎
  5. https://collections-gwu.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/11243/ ↩︎
  6. https://collections-gwu.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/11243/. This is not the only type of fiber in which we find this type of cape worked. ↩︎
  7. https://collections-gwu.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/11243/ ↩︎
  8. For example, the British Museum’s Af1853,0713.1 lists its technique as sprang: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1853-0713-1, but also provides clear and close photographs that show it is worked in exactly the same interlinking nalbinding stitch as this one in The Textile Museum. ↩︎

Updates to the Annotated Bibliography & Other Sources

Exciting news for your nalbinding (and other research) references collection. You can now download a copy of Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials! The Centre for Textile Research in Copenhagen is digitizing Margrethe Hald’s Archive and has recently uploaded a copy of Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials (currently 3rd from the bottom of the list) along with digitized copies of many of Hald’s other articles.

I’ve also been making updates to my Annotated Bibliography & Other Sources page at: https://nalbound.com/annotated-bibliography/ While there are still sources in my collection to be added, I’ve been able to add another lump covering some recent acquisitions regarding sources with information on Sub-Saharan African and Southeast Asian nalbinding. As is often the case, the usefulness varies greatly. Some of them have very limited information on nalbinding, tending to concentrate on woven textiles more than non-woven looped fabrics. Others include clear photos and diagrams including technique as well as structure.

Lady with Red Socks

The other weekend we had the opportunity to head up to New York city to see, amongst other things, an old painting of a Lady with Red Socks! I was soo excited to finally see her in person!

Now some of you will immediately know which Lady I’m referring to, but for those that have not yet been introduced, she is the “Woman wearing a Fringed Tunic” painted on a Roman Era, c. 170-200 AD, Egyptian linen shroud, perhaps from Antinoopolis, that now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Anne Marie Decker standing in front of the Shroud of a Woman wearing a Fringed Tunic in the MET: Rogers Fund, 1909 (09.181.8). Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker

Her socks give us an idea of how the split toed nalbound socks may have been worn. It is important to note, however, that the painting is not so detailed as to reveal the technique used to make her red socks and we do have extant socks with split toes from a similar time frame in Egypt that are made of cut and sewn woven cloth and a different pair of felt. All three kinds, woven, felt, and nalbound, appear to have very similar characteristics with slits at the ankles (necessary in the less flexible techniques, optional in nalbinding) and ties at the top.

Close up of the Shroud of a Woman Wearing a Fringed Tunic showing her red socks.

If you look closely you can see that the artist has drawn lines at the back of her ankles that appear to indicate that the laces were tied at the back. One on each side of her right foot (showing on the left) and also at the back of her left foot.

One of Anne Marie Decker’s nalbound socks based on the pair in the V&A held at a distance away from the Shroud of the Woman Wearing a Fringed Tunic in the MET.

You can also see that the socks are relatively thin as the artist did paint some definition of her toes, besides the slit for her sandals.

I did have to bring my own pair of red socks, just because I could not pass up the opportunity. The reason that my ties are as long as they are is because I had seen pictures of this Lady before I made them.

My thanks to Matthew Pius for letting me know that she was out on display and sending my first close-ups.

Ruth Decker standing next to one of the Late Republican Era, c. 50-40 BC, Roman wall paintings from the Reception hall of the villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale now in the MET: Rogers Fund, 1903 (03.14.5) This painting is of a woman playing a kithara.

While I was there, I also got to get a close look at some Roman wall paintings (and lots and lots of Roman/Greek statuary feet). One of which became very interesting… a detail I had not noticed in photographs before. Her foot is not painted in the same color as her skin. I cannot say definitively that it is a sock, more research into Republican Era painting styles and clothing/footwear is necessary, but it is an intriguing detail. Please let me know if you run across any other potential depictions of socks.

Close up of the foot of the woman playing a kithara. The yellow is not the color used to paint her skin. It is also showing the same yellow above and below the line for some form of strap.

While we spend much of our time in the Roman and Greek areas of the MET, we did take a quick look at the Medieval, Egyptian, and passed through areas of paintings on our way to the Medici exhibit that was on temporary display. I could not pass up the opportunity to see Eleanore of Toledo’s red velvet dress in person as who knows when I will get to return to Florence.

Eleanore of Toledo’s red velvet gown on loan to and on display at the MET for The Medici: Portraits & Politics, 1512-1570 exhibit that just ended October 11th.
Mom and I enjoying our dinner outside on a perfect day for outdoor dining. Looking forward to getting a bit more “big city” time again soon.

After a very exciting, but very very long day, mom and I had a wonderfully relaxing and restorative dinner at an amazing restaurant just two doors down from the hotel. Which was absolutely necessary given that I have not walked over 14,000 steps in a long, long time.

Our trip ended after a tour of the Garment District and St Pauls on one day and Coney Island and the Aquarium on the next. I was so glad to have to be back to work on Monday after nearly 40,000 steps in three days. But, we are very much looking forward to being able to travel again. We learn so much.

While at the MET, I picked up several books on art and textiles of Central Africa. I’ve been really enjoying getting a glimpse into an area with which I have been unfortunately less familiar. It’s fascinating to see the very strong traditional usage of nalbinding in the region. There are a variety of stitches, ranging from simple variants to lacework in compound variants, in a variety of garments and other usages.

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