Description

Rectangular woven mat made from afezu reeds and dyed leather. The afezu reeds form the warp of the mat and run the narrow width of the mat, and the weft is made from thin strips of brown leather woven the length of the mat. On one side, the leather strips create geometric apparitions, while in the back, the leather strips are left uncut. A leather fringe decorates the bottom of the mat. Mats such as this were woven by women and used for a variety of purposes in Tuareg tents. During the day, they would be moved around the tent to be used as light or wind screens or as panels to create privacy in different sections of the tent. Smaller mats would be used as serving areas for food or to cover food containers.