Fulani Khasa or Strip-woven Blanket / Hanging

Over eleven feet of cloth for the cold nights, and the color does the rest.

This khasa is a strip-woven cotton blanket by the Fulani peoples of Mali, made in the 20th century. Such blankets served as bedding and as household hangings. Horizontal bands of saturated color run its length: orange, black, red, cobalt blue and forest green, many with a plush, tufted texture. Narrow flat-woven bands with small geometric motifs separate the larger fields. A broad central section is checkered in white with red, blue, green and black squares and floral forms.

Frayed edges and a slight unevenness of line show it was made by hand. Warm in two senses.