Congolese Wood Textile Hanger

Draping cloth is an art with its own tools. In the Republic of Congo, the tool could be a carved rod.

This one is thirty-nine inches of 20th-century wood. One end divides into a small two-pronged fork, bound beneath with fine wrapping, and the section just below is roughened with carved texture. From there the shaft turns smooth and polished, tapering in one long, gradual line to a point. The tone is warm reddish-brown, darker near the fork.

Hang one on its own, or line up several. Either way, a tidy sentence in wood.