Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Honeycomb cells opening and closing down a long raffia strip.

This Shoowa prestige panel is the work of Kuba weavers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and was made of raffia in the 20th century. Panels like this are often associated with status and ceremonial occasions. Interlocking lines form elongated diamonds across the top, which give way to a denser lattice in the middle and small checked blocks near the bottom. The colors are muted, tan and deep brown with dark voids, and the surface shows the soft nap of cut raffia.

About sixty-eight by twenty-two inches. Subtle at a glance, endlessly detailed up close.