Raitra Marosoratra

2021

Raitra Marosoratra, 2021. Martin Rakotoarimanana (Malagasy, b. 1969), Hortensia Cecilia Harinjaka (Malagasy, b. 1975), Rija Ranarivelo (Malagasy, b. 1980), Daniel Rafidison (Malagasy, b. 1963), Rondro Faravololona (Malagasy, b. 1981), Joely Rasolomalala (Malagasy, b. 1989), Nathalie Rasoavololona (Malagasy, b. 1975), Colette Randrianasolo (Malagasy, b. 1991), Mbolatiana Raharimalala (Malagasy, b. 1993). Silk and dye; 231.1 x 247.7 cm (91 x 97 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, J.H. Wade Trust Fund 2021.167 This textile is a contemporary version of a lamba akotifahana (a weft-patterned silk mantle). These pricey garments were a fleeting, secular nineteenth-century fashion. Weavers created them for the elites of the Imerina Kingdom (c. 1540–1897), whose royals gave them as diplomatic gifts. In the 1990s, Lamba SARL Studio revived this weaving practice. Its artists create innovative display textiles drawn from extensive studies of historical examples. Using over twelve colors, the many motifs were woven by adding extra weft (horizontal) threads. Its title translates to "stunning with many patterns." The artists of the Lamba SARL workshop created this work especially for the CMA. It is their most complex to date.