About This Artwork

Kuba
Democratic Republic of Congo

Panel, Early/mid-20th century

Raffia, plain weave; embroidered in overcast and stem and running stitches cut to form pile; couching
61 x 49.2 cm (24 x 19 3/8 in.)
Restricted gift of the Textile Society and Avon Company Royalties, 1984.1026

According to oral tradition, the 17th-century Kuba king Shyaam introduced plush-textured raffia textiles to his kingdom. Raffia panels have long been considered valuable in Central Africa. Plain panels were used as currency as early as the 16th century. Until the early 20th century, such panels were exchanged in a variety of contexts—for instance, as royal tribute or part of a marriage contract. Today they continue to be collected by families, used in funeral displays, and buried with important adults.

Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories

Exhibition History

The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, "Twenty Years of Textile Society Collecting (1978–1998)," December 20, 1997–March 22, 1998