Old Huge Royal Display Cloth – Ndop – Cameroon – Outstanding Piece

1950-60. Handspun cotton yarns, red cordage, indigo dye solution. Approximately cm. 345,0 x cm. 205,0 (135.83″ x 80.71″). Some holes and age-related damage that do not detract from the beauty and strength of the fabric. A truly museum piece.

The ndop cloth occupies an important place in the cultural, socio-political and economic life of the Bamum people in the Cameroon Grasslands. The decorative uniqueness of the ndop cloth lies in its intricate patterns, painstaking resist-dyeing production techniques, cultural reifying roles and socio-political significance, and uses amongst the Bamum people.

It is a fabric used to make ceremonial clothes, for notables but also for members of secret societies. It is a symbol and was once even used as a currency of exchange: ndop is made with masterfully assembled cotton strips, enriched with precious embroidery in raffia thread, geometric shapes or animal designs, before being painted blue. The richness of the dress comes precisely from the many possible combinations of the possible symbols.

“On the ndop there are different designs that symbolize our way of life,” explains Arsène Ngandjouong, head of a museum in Bangoua, in the western region of the country. One of the most represented figures is “a circle that represents the duality of the Bamileke world, a communication between the living and the dead. The circle closes to show that there is no break between the two.”

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