Shoowa Prestige Cloth
D.R.Congo, Kuba people (Ngeende?)
Mid 20th century
Raffia, natural dyes, cut pile embroidery
61 x 53.5 cm (24″ x 21”)
Provenance: Pierre Loos Collection, Brussels
There is a mystery to the process of designing and making this panel featuring a very traditional Kuba interlace named imbol or nama. The structure is not quite symmetrical. The interlacing form differs subtly in width, line and inner detail, which shifts from checkerboard squares to triangles from side to side. Since the designs do not reach the end, the artist(s) have exploited the wedge-shaped space to add an eccentric progression of ever-reducing, sub-dividing blocks.
$1750
