Fragment of a woven blanket
- Object Name
- Fragment of a woven blanket
- Culture / Site
- Excavated at Cave Y, Bandiagara Escarpment, Tellem, Mali
- Medium
- Cotton and wool textile in weft-faced plain weave
- Date
- 15th century
- Dimensions
- 60 x 84 cm
- Credit Line
- Musée national du Mali, Bamako, Y-74-22. Photograph by Seydou Camara
- Section
- Saharan Frontiers/Connecting Trade to the Niger River
- Description
The woven textiles found among burial remains in the caves of the Bandiagara Cliffs east of Mali’s Inland Niger Delta are among the oldest surviving textiles from West Africa, with dates beginning in the eleventh century. As such, they provide important evidence for the longevity of weaving and dyeing technologies in the region. Large blanket fragments incorporate patterns shared by the Amazigh and Fulani peoples of the Sahara. The blanket itself is assembled from multiple woven bands, establishing the antiquity of a weaving technology unique to West Africa.