Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Black chevrons and arrowheads in a dark, dense field with a tan seam through it.

This Shoowa prestige panel is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is piled raffia. Shoowa cloths come from the Kuba kingdom in the Kasai region, where men traditionally wove the raffia ground and women embroidered it. Heavy black arrowhead chevrons alternate with tan chevrons in a dense all-over scheme, with cream dots between. The black is deep and the contrast strong. The upper left shows a visible patched section, and the edges are hemmed. It is 22 inches across and 25.5 long.

Arrows pointing in every direction, all with great conviction.