Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Pale and softly scribbled, with a small cluster of dark marks near the lower end.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is embroidered raffia. Uneven or crooked stitches are seen as attractive imperfections showing the cloth was made carefully by hand, and its patterns, passed down through generations, can be repetitive or entirely spontaneous. Long cream-colored textile with fine drawn lines and small repeating motifs across the surface. A cluster of darker marks sits low on the left, and a small black patterned patch appears near the bottom. Edges are wavy and creased. It is 29 inches wide and 207 long.

Subtle at a distance, busy once the eye gets close.