Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Pinwheel triangles frame the edges while a fussy diamond field takes the middle.

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. Rows of black and cream triangles pair into bow-tie pinwheels along the top and bottom borders. The central field is a busy tangle of small concentric diamonds and rectangles on a pale ground. A few loose threads trail at the right edge. The panel is 18.5 inches wide by 35 long.

The border is the neat one, and the middle is having fun.