Kuba Bushoong Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Hooks and tiny glyphs in cream, orange and violet crowd a dark-bordered strip.

This bushoong tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is applique raffia. 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. Long narrow textile with a dense ground of small cream, orange and plum glyphs and hooked marks, bordered by black bands. The cloth twists slightly along the sides, and the edges show soft, uneven wear. It is 32 inches wide and 174 long.

Packed full and still somehow quite organized.