Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Tan squared knots in the upper half, a purple-pink patch trespassing in the lower right.

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 tan and brown interlocking squares fill the upper part, with concentric diamonds below left. A section at lower right shows faded purple-pink areas, possibly from dye, and a pale rose border runs around the edge. Two halves meet at a vertical seam. It is 21 inches across and 23.5 long.

The one rose-colored corner is clearly the family troublemaker.