Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Nested chevrons and fine ladder bands stack up in a worn, ragged cloth.

This Shoowa prestige panel is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is piled raffia. Cut-pile raffia of this kind is usually attributed to the Shoowa, a Kuba people of the Kasai region, and was traditionally made by women. Fine horizontal bands in tan and black hold nested chevrons, small diamonds and ladder-like strips in a repeating columnar pattern. The edges are torn and uneven, with a notch at lower left and a ragged lower side, and the ground is darkened by age. It measures 21 inches wide and 23 long.

Busy, battered and still keeping every line straight.