Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt with Arrow Motifs

Brick red cloth with a dark center seam and faint little diamonds scattered about.

This tcaka or dance skirt with arrow motifs is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is applique raffia. Uneven or crooked stitches are seen as attractive imperfections showing the cloth was made carefully by hand, and its patterns, passed down through generations, can be repetitive or entirely spontaneous. Long textile in warm brick red with a dark vertical seam down the middle. Small faint diamond and loop motifs are scattered over the surface, and the lower end is slightly crumpled with soft, uneven edges. It is 34 inches wide and 228 long.

Red, restrained and thoroughly sewn down the middle.