Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt with Arrow Motifs

Faded brick red, long and lean, with a lower section stitched on at a different angle.

This tcaka or dance skirt with arrow motifs is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is applique 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. Narrow length in muted red-brown with a darker, softly mottled surface. The upper part is slimmer, and a wider overlapping section starts partway down, giving a step in the outline. Faint markings are barely visible. It is 36 inches wide and 210 long.

Dignified in a low voice, and still holding its color.