Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Reddish-brown shapes scatter across a pale ground like a game of tiny dominoes.

This tcaka or dance skirt 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 light tan with bold reddish-brown marks: bars, boxes, arrows and L-shapes, loosely spaced at the top and denser lower down. The lower end is rounded and slightly worn. It is 29 inches wide and 144 long.

Chunky marks, jaunty spacing, plenty of personality.