Ndop cloth
20th century
"When images were sent to me by Pamela McClusky, Curator of African Art at the Museum, I formulated a questionnaire and a schedule of persons in Kom to interview. I must comment here that there are certain things I was able to learn from the findings just because I am a grandson of the palace, because my father is a prince.
"One image sent to me was the image of a cloth, the ndop cloth. It is a special cloth and we regard it as a royal cloth. No ordinary person would be allowed to wear this ceremonial cloth. No machines were used to make this cloth. It was stitched either in Foumban or Nigeria. So Kom people initially got this cloth from far off areas, because they were involved with trade. If you look at this cloth, you will see marks of snakes, and this is how a Kom person will be able to identify that this is a cloth from Kom. It is stitched in raffia thread." (Gilbert Mbeng, 2001)
Cotton, strip weave, and tritik with indigo dye
64 3/4 in. (164.5 cm)
L.: 96 15/16 in.
Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
81.17.778
Provenance: Collection of Arnold Rubin (1937-1988), Los Angeles, California; to Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, likely by 1974; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981
Photo: Paul Macapia
