Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Pale fine-lined squares at the top fade into a golden, blank lower half.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is embroidered raffia. Typical woven panels measure about 26 by 28 inches and are sewn together into the great length of a wrap-around skirt, which can at times reach beyond twenty feet. Long textile with a vertical seam. The upper half carries pale grids and fine linear patterns in tan and grey, while the lower half is a plain, warm golden color with a slightly curled, rumpled edge. It is 36 inches wide and 163 long.

Busy at the top, and then completely at ease.