The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 8, 2026

A horizontal dark brown cotton textile rectangle is decorated with a grid of light tan geometric patterns. Small dots mark the intersections of uniform squares. Inside each square, thin zigzag lines form an X-shape pointing toward the corners, surrounded by nested zigzag borders. The short edges on the left and right appear unfinished and frayed.

Wrapper with Celu Ju (“the Bottom of the Net”) pattern

1986

Jokun Suko

(Malian, active 1980s–1990s)
West Africa, Mali
Cotton, dye (bògòlan technique)
Overall: 167.6 x 112.4 cm (66 x 44 1/4 in.)
Gift of Barbara G. Hoffman and Michael R. Short 2025.269
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Three photographs from 1986 show the artist making this work.

Description

Jokun Suko was a master of the bògòlan technique, a uniquely Malian form of textile mud dyeing practiced by Bamana culture artists. The sharp geometry of Suko’s work is deceptively simple; to create a straight line with this fickle, fermented mud pigment requires years of apprenticeship and practice. Compounding the challenge, the artist worked in a traditional manner, supporting her textile over the rounded edge of a calabash gourd.
  • c. 1980s
    Jokun Suko (Torokoroni, Mali)
    1986–2025
    Barbara Hoffman
    2025
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Wrapper with Celu Ju (“the Bottom of the Net”) pattern|url=false|author=Jokun Suko|year=1986|access-date=08 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.269