Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Hexagonal chains with a tiny diamond at each link, drawn very fine.

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. Tan ground, with narrow black outlines forming chains of elongated hexagons, each holding a small black diamond or dot. The scale is fine and all-over, with a faint seam across the middle and a slight stain at upper right. The hem is plain tan. It measures 20.5 inches wide and 23 long.

Delicate work, laid out by someone with a very steady hand.