Panel from a 
Ndop Ceremonial Hanging
Bamileke or Bamum people
Cameroon
Late 19th to early 20th century 
Strip woven indigo-dyed cotton, stitch resist dye technique
40 1/2" x 63"  (102 x 160 cm)

Mounted on a wood stretcher

This is an extremely early Ndop cloth from the Cameroon Grassland kingdoms with a kinetic, yet visually cohesive, design, unusual in a textile assembled from multiple narrow individually resist-dyed strips.  Ndop cloth was emblematic of royal power and social status, and was used for traditional garments and masquerade costume as well as to create a "backdrop" for ceremonial occasions and festivities.