Kuba Shoowa Prestige Panel

Men wove the raffia. Women embroidered it. The Shoowa are especially known for cut-pile work with a soft, velvety surface.

This prestige panel was made by the Kuba peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 20th century, and panels like it were valued as prestige goods and exchanged on important occasions. About twenty by twenty-two inches, it is filled with rows of concentric diamonds, some outlined in black on the natural ground, others filled with ochre. Black triangles punctuate the upper and lower edges. A brown raffia binding frames it, and the dense pile shows light, even wear.

A velvet geometry lesson. Class is in session.