Kuba Shoowa Dance Skirt

Diamonds inside diamonds, each with its own little cluster of dots, like dice that cannot agree.

This Shoowa dance skirt is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is piled and woven raffia. Kuba dance skirts are generally long wrapped panels of raffia cloth worn for ceremonies, their geometric patterns drawn from a large shared vocabulary of named motifs. A central field of small diamonds, each holding a grid of dark squares, is surrounded by a wide border of bold black chevrons and zigzags on natural raffia. The panels are stitched together by hand. It is 23 inches wide and 49 long.

Geometry with a sense of rhythm, which suits something made for dancing.