Kuba Cloth - Shoowa Tribe
Early 20th century

Kuba refers to the region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, where the raffia cloth stems from, and Shoowa is a tribal group who lives in this region and makes a specific style of cloth. Their designs are intricate, in bold earthy colors, and have had a variety of uses as a type of currency, as dowries, status symbols, and funerary shrouds. The fibre is extracted from the palm tree leaves which grows in the tropical forests of Central and West Africa. The fibre is dyed using mud, indigo, or substances from the camwood tree. The raffia fibers are rubbed by hand to soften them and make them easier for weaving. Men weave the base cloth and the women embroider in the design. They do this by pulling a few threads of the raffia fibers, inserting them into a needle running the needle through the cloth until the fibers show up on the opposite end. They then take a knife and cut off the top of the fibers, leaving only a little bit showing, which gives a look of velvet . Doing this hundreds of times forms a design. The designs are seldom planned out ahead of time, and most of the embroidery is done by memory. A work of modern art.

 

Cataloguing

Embroidered in shdes from dark brown through caramel to cream with squares the edges bound with the backing cloth.

21 in; 54 cm but not quite square. The bottom is a little curvy.

Condition

Very very good. 

Price: £130 | $170 | €150

Ref N°: 9209