Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Concentric squares on the tilt, with brown cloud-like blotches scattered throughout.

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. Nested diamonds in brown, black and tan set diagonally across the field, with irregular blotchy brown shapes in several cells. The shapes feel less crisp and more freehand. A narrow tan border and gentle ripples finish the edge. It measures 20 inches wide and 21.5 long.

Orderly outlines, and the blotches clearly did their own thing.