Exploring the West African textile collections of the Musee du Quai Branly: Part Two – some early bogolanfini

The majority of these cloths were collected at the start of the twentieth century by Francois de Zeltner, who published an article on bogolan in 1910. We can note both that some are remarkable similar to designs produced a century later, and that some are notably different.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

The Musee du Quai Branly, Paris, holds one of the world’s most significant collections of West African textiles, with particular strength in some of the former French colonies. The entire collection is accessible on line  via their website. Check the textiles button then enter the country name in the box below.