Art Institute of Chicago

Ceremonial Skirt

Kuba, Bushong

Date

1875/1900

Medium

Raffia, plain weave and cotton, plain weave; pieced; appliquéd with raffia, plain weave in pearl stitches

Culture

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Kuba ceremonial skirts such as this one were worn as part of everyday finery by figures of high social rank as well as exchanged or otherwise distributed as prized items or currency; the objects were also sometimes used in dowry payments or displayed as funerary shrouds. The production of a fabric from the raffia palm leaf requires intensive human labor and technical ability. The abstract motifs that overlay the raffia cloth—circles, L-shapes, and lozenges—reference symbols and ideas that were broadly understood by the Kuba. The interlacing grid-like sections with their tight compositional style contrast sharply with the looser configuration of abstract elements in the center. Simple shapes are scattered—sparsely in places and densely in others—over panels of finely woven, undyed raffia. Although the placement of the shapes is often determined by small holes or tears in the raffia fabric, the shapes themselves and the way they interact imply a conscious attempt to enhance aesthetic appeal through compositional configurations.

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