The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 8, 2026

Monumental Royal Display Ndop Cloth (ntieya) with Leopards

1880–1900

Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Grassfields Region

Cotton, indigo
Overall: 100 x 900 cm (39 3/8 x 354 5/16 in.)
Sundry Art - African Art Fund and Textile Fund 2025.274
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Male and female specialists collaborate to make ndop, a strip-woven indigo-dyed textile.

Description

Staggeringly large ndop royal display cloths were meant to impress in the Cameroon Grassfields kingdoms. Large-scale royal ntieya, like this example, are the rarest in the ndop genre. Paired leopards stalk across its length, one of the primary symbols of Grassfields leaders. The cloth’s other geometric motifs are equally rich with meaning. For example, the triangle-filled lozenge evokes the crocodile, symbolizing royal power and fecundity.
  • ?–2017
    Collection of D.L. (Daniel or David Lebard), Belgium
    Zareh and Berdj Achdijian (1947–2023) by purchase. Gros & Delettrez via Drouot Paris Auction House, Lot 210, November 27, 2017 (“Orientalisme” sale)
    2017–2025
    Galerie Achdijian, Paris
    2025
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Gros & Delettrez via Drouot Paris Auction House, Lot 210, November 27, 2017 (“Orientalisme” sale), page 97 (print edition). Communication with Galerie Achdijian, 2025, CMA curatorial files.
    2 Gros & Delettrez via Drouot Paris Auction House, Lot 210, November 27, 2017 (“Orientalisme” sale), page 97 (print edition).
  • {{cite web|title=Monumental Royal Display Ndop Cloth (ntieya) with Leopards|url=false|author=|year=1880–1900|access-date=08 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.274