Prestige Panel

20th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 345

This unusually small prestige panel is remarkable for the exquisite refinement achieved by its embroiderer. She employed multiple techniques that play with the effect of light on the textile’s surface. The cut-pile, velvet-like texture absorbs light, while the stem-stitch cabling reflects it, resulting in two different tones of red. Light is further manipulated through the triangular cutouts along the inner border. The exact function of this elaborate textile is undocumented. Its diminutive scale suggests that it served as a demonstration of its author’s prodigious skill.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Prestige Panel
Artist: Kuba artist
Date: 20th century
Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sankuru River region
Culture: Kuba peoples
Medium: Raffia palm fiber, pigment
Dimensions: W. 7 3/4 x L. 17 3/4 in. (19.7 x 45.1 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Woven
Credit Line: Gift of William B. Goldstein, 2001
Object Number: 2001.271.5
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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Ncák (women's ceremonial skirt), Kuba artist, Raffia palm fiber, dye, Kuba — Ncák (women's ceremonial skirt)
Kuba artist
early–mid-20th century

Ncák (women's ceremonial skirt), Kuba artist, Raffia palm fiber, dye, Kuba peoples — Ncák (women's ceremonial skirt)
Kuba artist
first half of 20th century

Woman's ceremonial overskirt, Kuba artist, Raffia palm fiber, dye, Kuba peoples — Woman's ceremonial overskirt
Kuba artist
ca. 1900

Double Prestige Panel, Kuba artist, Raffia palm fiber, vegetable dye, Kuba peoples — Double Prestige Panel
Kuba artist
late 19th–mid 20th century

Prestige vessel, Kuba artist, Wood, Kuba peoples — Prestige vessel
Kuba artist
19th–first half of 20th century

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