Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Pale yellow ground with small black spirals and crosses, like a very orderly maze.

This Shoowa prestige panel is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is piled raffia. Shoowa embroiderers generally work in geometric designs, and the patterns are often said to be composed as the stitching goes. Hooked meanders and tiny black crosses run across a pale straw cloth in all-over rows, divided into two or three sewn bands with faint seams. The ground is a soft yellow and the hem is pale pink. The panel is 20.25 inches wide by 23.5 long.

A maze for ants, drawn by someone with endless patience.