Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Black zigzag squiggles float in a central panel ringed by pale meander borders.

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. Tall and narrow, with a black and cream zigzag field in the middle, framed above and below by cream meander and interlace bands. Two halves meet at a seam. The palette is muted gray tan, with a thin tan border. The panel is 18 inches wide by 37 long.

The squiggles in the middle look like they escaped from somewhere.