Cut-pile Shoowa velvet, also known as Kasai velvet or simply as Kuba cloth, is an artform produced cooperatively by men and women of the Kuba culture of Central Africa.  The male weavers make the base cloth, and highly skilled female artists embroider and add plush designs to the surface. Each Shoowa velvet cloth has geometric designs that were likely inspired by basketry motifs, and the more consistent patterns are usually found in royal textiles. As with this Shoowa velvet, the cloths often have parallel lines, chevrons, squares, and interlace patterns.  One specific motif, consisting of interlaced L-shaped designs that join together to form a square, is associated with the design representing Woot, the Kuba legendary founding ancestor and king; because this piece is also relatively consistent in pattern, it likely served as a royal textile.

Kuba kings, queens, and their children traditionally wear these cloths at ceremonial events such as dances and funerals. Shoowa velvet is also used to decorate official buildings and to line the graves of Kuba royals.

For more information, you may contact the researcher(s) noted in the title of this exhibit entry, or Dr. Billie Follensbee, the professor of the course, at BillieFollensbee@MissouriState.edu