ART ON VIEW
Indeed, at this point in time, the Kuba state—
which had rapidly expanded because of new
agricultural products and practices—was struggling
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to integrate far-fl ung chiefdoms into its
multiethnic and multilingual orbit. In order to
do so, a complex political system was developed
over the course of the early to mid nineteenth
century. This system linked individual villages
to the capital of Nsheng through the transfer of
people and the display of symbols. Critical for
our purposes are the artworks given to provincial
leaders and the designs that the Kuba state
permitted these individuals to wear. Given the
state’s vested interest in the symbolic display
of authority at this time, it only makes sense
that they would commission and champion new
forms of legible design.
As the nineteenth century progressed, the
Kuba kingdom continued to expand, eventually
becoming the dominant regional power due to
its control over the highly lucrative ivory and
rubber trades.7 However, as the wealth of the
kingdom increased, so too did the number of titled
offi ceholders and professional bureaucrats.
By 1892, more than half of all men living at the
capital were members of the titled aristocracy,
and the jockeying for power and wealth was so
intense that the kingdom was “teetering on the
brink of a civil war over royal succession.”8
It was in this political climate that the second
major design innovation occurred. Exemplifi ed
by the overskirt embroidered in green (fi gs. 1 and
12), this era is defi ned by increasing complexity
of design, starker color contrasts, and the incorporation
of subsidiary designs within larger
geometrical schemas. These innovations allowed
the kingdom’s legions of offi cials to distinguish
themselves from one another in their bloodless
quests for dominance. Indeed, during this time
period, “public displays of status were the are-
FIG. 28 (above):
Maison “Bakuba.”
(“Bakuba” House).
Photograph by Casimir
Zagourski (1880–1941).
Pierre Loos Collection. Courtesy of
Andres Moraga Textile Art.