Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Arrows, crosses and checkerboards marching down a long panel in tidy rows.

This Shoowa prestige panel is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is woven. Kuba textiles are known for their bold geometric patterns, and the Shoowa are especially celebrated for raffia work made as prestige cloth. Here a long, narrow panel is divided into a grid of diamonds by fine natural lines. Each diamond holds a dark motif, an arrow, a cross, a chevron or a small checkerboard, against a pale ground. A narrow brown border runs around the edge. It is 19 inches wide and 83 long.

Every diamond had its own idea, and all of them were good.