Soninke Woman's Wrap / Skirt

Indigo, deep enough to look black until the light changes.

Mali, 20th century. This Soninke woman’s wrap, or skirt, was woven of cotton, and indigo-dyed cloth was worn by women as everyday and festive dress across the region. The cloth is a blue-black, its surface lightly ribbed by the weave. Two bands of decoration run across it, each with a row of triangles picked out in small dots of lighter blue and a fine zigzag line below.

The edges are softly frayed, and the indigo varies subtly in depth across the cloth. Forty-four inches by fifty-five. Quiet cloth. Quiet room.