The cloth starts as leaves from the raffia palm. Men weave the fibres into squares, and women embroider and cut them into geometric patterns, sometimes creating a soft, velvet-like pile. Kuba cloth, from the Kuba Kingdom of central Congo, is one of Africa’s most admired textile traditions.
The Kuba Kingdom
The Kuba Kingdom developed in the Kasai region of present-day Democratic Republic of Congo, between the Sankuru and Kasai rivers. It was a federation of peoples under a king, known for art and court culture.
Raffia
Raffia fibre comes from palm leaves. It is stripped, softened and woven into panels on looms, traditionally by men.
Embroidery
Women decorate the panels with embroidery. In the cut-pile technique, associated with the Shoowa group, fibres are inserted and cut short to make a plush surface. Patterns are geometric and varied.
Patterns
Kuba designs feature interlocking shapes, zigzags and lines. Patterns have names, and some are linked to rulers or events. Artists often change patterns within a single piece, creating rhythm and surprise.
Uses
Kuba cloth was used as clothing, in ceremonies, as a form of currency and as a sign of wealth. Long wrapped skirts made of many panels were worn at important events and funerals.
Funerals
Cloth was important at funerals, where the dead were dressed in fine textiles and families displayed wealth.
Influence on modern art
European artists, including Henri Matisse and Paul Klee, collected or admired Kuba textiles, and scholars have noted their influence on modernist abstraction.
Collections
Kuba cloth is held in museums worldwide. It is also sold widely to collectors and decorators, though quality varies.
Today
Production continues in the Kasai region, though economic hardship and conflict have affected artisans.
Kuba art
The Kuba are also known for carved wooden figures of kings, called ndop, elaborate masks and decorated cups and boxes. Their textiles share the same love of pattern found across Kuba art.
Buying Kuba cloth
Collectors look for handwoven raffia, careful embroidery and age. Many pieces sold abroad are recent, and some are assembled from older fragments.
Patterns with names
Kuba embroiderers gave names to many motifs, sometimes after the person who invented them. A new pattern could bring its creator prestige at court.
European modernists were praised for inventing abstraction. Kuba embroiderers had been making abstract patterns from palm leaves for centuries before them.
