Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Fine drawn lines, little frames and keyhole shapes on pale cloth with a notched end.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is embroidered & applique raffia. The cloth is made from raffia palm leaves, which are gathered, dried, softened, dyed and stripped into fibers before being woven into panels and then embroidered. Long textile in pale cream-tan, with delicate dark lines forming frames, keyhole motifs and small boxes. The lower end is ragged and notched, narrowing to an irregular shape, and the edges look softly aged. It is 27 inches wide and 203.5 long.

Faint, fine and a little ragged at the end.