Kuba Raffia Woven Currency

Raffia, in Kuba country, is also arithmetic. A thing you wear and a thing you count.

Woven raffia was a recognized form of wealth there, exchanged in standard lengths, used in payments and for clothing. This piece, 20th century, runs thirty-four inches: a flat, narrow woven panel in natural straw color, its ends plaited into twisted, rope-like tails. Fraying along the edges, darker tones at the ends. Mounted on a low stand, it makes a quiet horizontal line.

Money you could, in a pinch, wear.