Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

A skinny strip of checkerboard, red blocks and tall black bars like a game of 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. Because the cloth is built from separate squares, they can be separated and recombined into new compositions, then backed and hung on a wall much like a tapestry. Very narrow textile strip with a column of black and white checks, a band of red and black blocks, and small stepped motifs. The edges are straight, with a slight wobble, and the colors are strong and crisp. It is 23 inches wide and 208 long.

Thin, bold and tightly buttoned into its pattern.