Shoowa Prestige Cloth
D.R.Congo, Kuba people (Ngeende?)
Mid 20th century
Raffia, natural dyes, cut pile embroidery
52 x 58 cm (20.5 x 22.75 inches)
Provenance: Pierre Loos Collection, Brussels
The surface of this densely patterned panel is executed entirely––and atypically––in cut-pile embroidery, utilizing bold color to define the designs instead of the more usual textural contrast of sculpted pile outlined with flat stitching. The patchwork-like assemblage offers a dynamic sampler of Kuba geometric pattern, a design conventions more often seen in women’s overskirts worn for ritual dances and displayed at funerary celebrations.
$2000
