Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Rows of black lozenges with a double cream outline, evenly spaced, like a well-run orchard.

This Shoowa prestige panel is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is piled raffia. Cut-pile raffia of this kind is usually attributed to the Shoowa, a Kuba people of the Kasai region, and was traditionally made by women. Lozenges in black, outlined twice in cream, sit in staggered rows on a golden tan ground. The scale is mid-sized and regular, except for a tiny cluster of diamonds at the left edge. The border is a thin hem. It is 20.5 inches across and 23 long.

Steady rows, and one little cluster that wanted attention.