The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Raitra Marosoratra

2021

weaver

Mbolatiana Raharimalala

(Malagasy, b. 1993)

Africa, Eastern Africa, Madagascar

silk and dye

231.1 x 247.7 cm (91 x 97 1/2 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2021.167

Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The artists of the Lamba SARL workshop created this work especially for the CMA. It is their most complex to date.

Description

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 Merina Kingdom (c. 1540–1897), whose royals gave them as diplomatic gifts. Though Malagasy weavers continued to make textiles with akotifahana motifs after the kingdom's fall, they became simpler and were mainly made in white. In the 1990s, Lamba SARL Studio revived the elaborate historical 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."

2021
Lamba SARL Studio, Antananarivo, Madagascar, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
2021–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Hanson, Robin. “Behind the Scenes: A day in the textile conservation lab.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 62, no. 1: 22-23. Reproduced: P. 23; Mentioned: P. 22.
{{cite web|title=Raitra Marosoratra|url=false|author=Martin Rakotoarimanana, Hortensia Cecilia Harinjaka, Rija Ranarivelo, Daniel Rafidison, Rondro Faravololona, Joely Rasolomalala, Nathalie Rasoavololona, Colette Randrianasolo, Mbolatiana Raharimalala|year=2021|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2021.167