Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

A scatter of pale lozenges with black chips, laid out like a quiet mosaic.

This Shoowa prestige panel is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is piled raffia. Among the Kuba, raffia cloth long carried questions of rank, and panels like this were generally worn as skirts or given at ceremonies and funerals. Pale pink-tan ground covered in fine diamond lines, with irregular black blocks and the odd small checker scattered throughout. The pattern is light and slightly random, with a pale pink border and a few small spots of staining. The panel is 23.5 inches wide by 26 long.

Black confetti thrown over a very patient grid.