Textiles and Dress

African textiles

African textiles are textiles from the various peoples, cultures, and locations of the African continent. These are produced in many distinctive styles; using varied fabrics, dyeing methods, manufacturing techniques, and technologies; and for myriad ritual, decorative, and functional ends. These textiles hold cultural significance and also are important historical documents of African design. Textiles were historically produced and used in every major region of Africa; however, archaeological finds of historic textiles in Africa are frequently described as "exceptional" due to the frequent degradation of such organic artifacts in tropical, temperate, and even semi-arid environments. Nonetheless, textiles of notable antiquity have been found in Africa, including a flax fragment found at the site of Upper K, Fayyum region, Egypt, which has been dated to the neolithic period of Ancient Egyptian history, also called the Pre-dynastic period; a cotton textile fragment at a site near Aksum, Ethiopia, dating to the late fifth or early sixth centuries AD; and a wool textile fragment found at the site of Kissi, Burkina Faso, dating to the early sixth century AD.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸1920s in Western fashion
• ▸Curveball (informant)
• ▸Candombe

Uncatalogued shelf

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