Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Fringed all round, with tiny dotted diamonds in a dark, shaggy frame.

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. A wide brown border cloth surrounds it, and long loose fringe hangs along the sides and bottom, giving it a shaggy outline. It measures 22.5 inches wide and 25 long.

Dots in rows, with a bit of hair on the edges.