Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Zigzags, marching in rows, with a column of diamonds keeping time.

This Shoowa prestige panel was made by Kuba peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 20th century. Shoowa cloths are woven from raffia and cut and embroidered into dense, velvety geometric designs, and they were treasured as marks of status. Here, bands of chevrons in dark brown, black and tan run across the panel, with a central line of nested diamonds. No two pieces are alike, and the pattern is never quite symmetrical. That is the point.

About twenty-one and a half inches by twenty-one. Hang it alone and let the geometry do the talking.