Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Almost seven and a half feet of raffia, laid out in a slow, patient grid.

Kuba weavers of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, made this Shoowa prestige panel in raffia in the 20th century. Shoowa cloths are commonly associated with status, ceremonial dress and burial wrappings, and are known for their geometric patterns. This long, narrow panel is worked in a dense lattice of small interlocked motifs in dark brown on a tan ground, with a few lighter stitched accents. The edges are slightly uneven, as hand-woven cloth tends to be.

About eighty-nine by twenty-one inches. Hang it down a tall wall and let the pattern do the talking.