Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Faded to the color of strong tea, with a hole where the middle used to be.

This Shoowa prestige panel is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is piled raffia. Kuba cloth begins with the fibers of the raffia palm, and the embroidery that covers it is slow, patient work. Brown on brown, the pattern is a soft chevron and zigzag of fine tonal lines with almost no black left. A round hole sits near the center and the lower edge is torn and ragged. It is 22 inches across and 24 long.

The pattern went shy, but the lines still hold their angles.