Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Patched panels in warm browns, with a darker block in the middle and creases everywhere.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is embroidered 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, wide textile made of joined panels in tans and browns, with delicate line patterns and a darker rectangular patch near the middle. Visible seams, vertical creases and softly worn edges mark the surface. It is 35 inches wide and 142 long.

Stitched together, wrinkled and deeply convincing.