Lot 715
A Fine African Cotton Textile, c. 1942, Mende, Sierra Leone, rectangular form comprised of ten horizontal strips, overall checkered design with alternating indigo-dyed and natural rectangles, height 54 in., width 84 in.; mounted to a fabric wrapped frame, overall height 58 7/8 in., width 88 1/2 in. Provenance: With Esther Warner Dendel, acquired from an itinerant trader at the Firestone Rubber Plantation, Harbel, Liberia, 1942; to Sotheby's, NY, May 14, 2004, lot 43; to current owner Note: The May 2004 Sotheby's note for this lot quotes the writings of Esther Dendel as follows: "The [trader] who brought [the strip cloth] said the weaver was a Mende tribesman....In 1941 there were roads in Guinea that connected settlements within walking distance of the Liberian border with towns farther east and north. Commerce was carried on by wood-burning trucks and continued during World War II in spite of the scarcity of gasoline. Cloths as well as salt... were brought 'down country' on men's heads once they reached Liberia, which was not yet traversed by roads". See Sotheby's, sale N07996, lot 43.
Starting Bid: $800
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