Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Brown knotwork meets itself in the middle, with one black blot that refused to blend.

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 pile on a Shoowa cloth is cut raffia, sheared to an even nap that collectors often call Kasai velvet. Interlaced meander bands in dark brown on a tan ground, laid out symmetrically around a central axis with pale lozenge gaps running down the middle. A darker brown border frames it, and a single black patch sits near the lower right. The panel is 21 inches wide by 23 long.

Symmetry was the plan, and the black patch is the signature.