Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Dark plum-brown cloth with a central seam and patterns that only whisper.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is embroidered raffia. Kuba cloth comes from the Kuba Kingdom in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where men and women work side by side to make cloths that carry a great deal of symbolism. Long, wide textile in a deep plum-brown with a vertical seam running down the middle. Fine, faint geometric lines show in the surface, and the edges are soft and slightly rippled with a rounded lower end. It is 32 inches wide and 163 long.

Dark, subtle and perfectly happy to be overlooked.