Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

A long narrow strip of rust diamonds, dense below and sparser above.

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 Kuba are known for raffia textiles in which a few simple elements are repeated and varied until the surface seems to move. Tall and narrow, in rust and black. The upper half has small dotted diamonds in open rows, while the lower half switches to finer, tighter diamond lattice. A seam crosses the middle and the sides are plainly hemmed. It is 22 inches across and 43 long.

A tall order, pieced in two steady halves.