the metropolitan museum of art

Fabric, Wallcovering & Trimming

collection

This captivating collection, created in collaboration with The Met, draws on artworks and objects from across nine of The Met’s 17 curatorial departments to create a rich mosaic of historical narratives. Each design is a celebration of artisanship, inspired by exquisite forms and cultural traditions. Following our first collaboration with The Met in the 1970s, we bring museum magic into the home once again in homage to history and the grand beauty of art.

• Kasai Velvet

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Scalamandre | The Met - Fabric, Wallcovering and Passementerie Collection

African Art in The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

In 1969 Nelson Rockefeller announced the gift of his collection of some five hundred works from sub-Saharan Africa to The Met. These were mostly figurative sculpture from West and Central Africa. The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, which was built to display the collection, opened to the public in 1982, and is now temporarily closed in preparation for the exciting new renovation project which will reenvision these collections for a new generation of visitors. Since its founding, additional gifts have deepened the collection and expanded its parameters, reflecting the importance of recognizing the innovative nature of historical traditions in our own time and major idioms of visual expression ranging from textiles to Ethiopian Christian art and decorative arts from southern Africa.

8. a.

Kasai Velvet

Patterned Cut & Un-cut Velvet

SC 27323

Kasai Velvet

Material Width: 55"
Horizontal Repeat: 6.75"
Vertical Repeat: 13"

Woman's Overskirt

Kuba peoples, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Raffia palm fiber, 1900 (?)
Gift of William B. Goldstein, 1999 1999.522.14

Our Kasai Velvet takes inspiration from a woman’s overskirt made by the Kuba peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kuba textiles are a long-standing tradition, significant as emblems of rank and noted for the complexity of their design and surface decoration. Featuring a raffia tabby weave, The Met’s textile is transformed into a unique, soft velvet.

Kasai Velvet adapts the geometric and linear motifs on the original and for a luxe and multi-dimensional textile. Its cotton-and-viscose composition and varying pile affords both a shine and matte effect.