Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Fine interlaced diamonds in black and cream, with a zigzag stripe tucked down one side.

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 embroiderers generally work in geometric designs, and the patterns are often said to be composed as the stitching goes. Outlined diamonds and small black lozenges are linked by thin interlace lines across a pale ground, in an all-over scheme. A narrow vertical band of tight cream zigzags runs along the right edge. Edges are hemmed and slightly wavy. The panel is 21 inches wide by 21.25 long.

Everything is connected, and the zigzag stripe is the loose end.