Breast band c. 20th century

This breast band was made by an anonymous artist, with unknown materials, and at an unknown date. The woven pattern is built from tiny gestures; each thread, each knot, a deliberate mark in a patient process. The overall palette is earthy, subdued, mostly reds and browns. The texture looks soft, pliable, inviting you to reach out and touch it. The surface isn't flat; it has a visual rhythm and the woven marks give it a depth that a painting could only dream of. Look at the details near the ends of the bands. There are tiny white lines that give the piece a kind of graphic jolt, anchoring your eye. They remind me of a Barnett Newman zip, or maybe Agnes Martin’s grids, but softer. It's about repetition, about tiny variations, about the beauty of something made by hand. This textile reminds me of the work of Sheila Hicks, another artist who uses thread to make soft sculptures. Each artist embraces the process of making, reminding us that art is an ongoing conversation across time, full of wonderful ambiguity.