Kpokpo Cloth

Country cloth is a thick, heavy, cloth, traditionally made from locally grown cotton that is spun into thread, dyed, and woven into strips on a tripod loom. The strips are then sewn together edge to edge to form the finished cloth. Such cloth was, in the past, regarded as a sign or wealth and Prestige. This is an example of kpokpoi, or kpokpo, cloth, relating to country cloth made up of strips of varying colours and patterns, used to make a larger, more complex, pattern. This example consists of nine strips of weft plain weave, with undyed, and indigo-dyed, warp threads. Sewn together, they create a striped effect.

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Further Information

• Type: Textiles, cloth
• Object: Kpokpo Cloth
• Materials: Textile
• Culture Group: Mende, Sherbro
• Dimensions: 2330mm [L] x 1215mm [W]
• Production Date: Pre 1934
• Associated Places: Unknown
• Associated People: Charles A. Beving
• Museum: British Museum
• Accession Number: BM:Af.1934.307.181

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