On view in the African Art galleries, Backs in Fashion: Mangbetu Women’s Egbe explores the art of the egbe, a back apron garment created by upper-class Mangbetu women. This exhibition investigates the artistic process, essential function, and cultural role that egbe garments played in Mangbetu society.
Images: Back Apron (Negbe), 1930s. Mangbetu peoples. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Banana leaves, plant fiber, and natural dye. Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 2021.10.1.1; Back Apron (Negbe), 1930s. Mangbetu peoples. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Banana leaves, plant fiber, and natural dye. Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 2021.10.1.3; Back Apron (Negbe), 1930s. Mangbetu peoples. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Banana leaves, plant fiber, and natural dye. Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 2021.10.1.5; Back Apron (Negbe), 1930s. Mangbetu peoples. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Banana leaves, plant fiber, and natural dye. Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 2021.10.1.9; Back Apron (Negbe), 1930s. Mangbetu peoples. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Banana leaves, plant fiber, and natural dye. Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 2021.10.1.11; Back Apron (Negbe), 1930s. Mangbetu peoples. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Banana leaves, plant fiber, and natural dye. Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, 2021.10.1.14
Backs in Fashion: Mangbetu Women’s Egbe is organized by the Dallas Museum of Art. Free General Admission to the Dallas Museum of Art is funded, in part, by the Robert Gerard Pollock Foundation. Additional support for the Museum is provided by generous DMA Members and donors, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.