Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

A black diamond field framed by a fat tan border and a shaggy outer fringe.

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. Black diamonds crossed by tan X-shaped bands fill a rectangular central field, which sits inside a wide tan border. Long fringe surrounds the outside edge. The framing is unusually deliberate, and the black ground is dense and rich. The panel is 24 inches wide by 27 long.

Matted, framed and fringed, like a picture hung by an enthusiast.