Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

A red field of fine marks framed by a black and cream checkerboard border.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is embroidered & pieced 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 rust-red center filled with fine dark marks, framed on both sides by black and cream checks. The ends are neat and the borders keep a lively, even rhythm. It is 22 inches wide and 145 long.

Neatly framed and cheerfully checkered.