Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Dark chocolate band with pale key-shaped motifs marching down it like a very formal fence.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is woven & applique raffia & cowrie. Abstract geometric designs on the cloth act as a visual language valued across Kuba society, and some say it grew from scarification patterns, crop patterns or even divine intervention. Slim strip in near-black and brown, with cream angular spiral shapes set in blocks at intervals. Rows of small dots and little triangle edgings run along both sides, and the overall color is deep and slightly uneven. It is 161.5 inches wide and 23 long.

Tidy, rhythmic, and clearly not in a hurry.