Kuba Dye-Resist Tcaka Textile

Visually dynamic and highly textured, this raffia textile expresses the irregular, geometric patterns typical of Kuba textile art. Created by an artisan of the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this textile form is a wrapped overskirt known as tcaka, assembled as a patchwork of woven raffia panels. Each panel is decorated with complex linear patterns of light brown color, achieved using dye-resist methods similar to Japanese shibori. The geometric designs are restrained and balanced yet inherently rhythmic - ideal today as a striking wall hanging or table runner.