This triptych, created in collaboration with Egyptian craftsman Tarek Abdelhay Hafez Abouelenin, known as Tarek El Safty — a specialist in Khayamiya, the traditional Egyptian appliqué technique — is presented as part of the exhibition Kings and Queens of Africa: Forms and Figures of Power at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, curated by Hélène Joubert, El Hadji Malick Ndiaye, Cindy Olohou, and the museum’s dedicated team.

The piece recounts the legendary pilgrimage of King Mansa Musa to Mecca. As ruler of the Mali Empire — then one of the wealthiest in West Africa due to its vast gold reserves — Mansa Musa traveled through Cairo, where he distributed gold so lavishly that it caused a temporary collapse in the value of the precious metal.

MANSA MUSA - DEPARTING TIMBUKTU, 90 x 180 cm

MANSA MUSA - IN CAIRO, 90 x 180 cm

MANSA MUSA - IN HAJJ, 90 x 180 cm