Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

A long, dim strip with dark checked borders and pale meanders in between.

This Shoowa prestige panel is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is piled raffia. The Kuba are known for raffia textiles in which a few simple elements are repeated and varied until the surface seems to move. Dark checkered stripes run along both long edges of a tall, narrow cloth. The center is a pale grey-tan field of fine meander lines and black speckles that thin out toward the top. The tone is low and cloudy, and the surface looks faded. It is 20 inches across and 44 long.

Murky, moody and quite happy to stay that way.