Kente cloth: (Aberewa Bene "Wise Old Lady")

20th century

The name of this cloth, Aberewa Bene or "Wise Old Lady," refers both to an exceptional elderly woman of the Asensie clan and to the ongoing role older women play in matters of traditional jurisprudence.

"I have learned through my parents to admire kente and to appreciate that, for most Ghanaians, kente cloths are heirlooms. They are precious treasures given on significant occasions and hopefully passed down from mother to daughter, uncle to nephew, father to son." (Abena P.A. Busia, 1999)

Kente is perhaps the best known of all African textiles. These strip-woven cloths speak of authority and rank through their carefully inserted patterns, of which over three hundred warp-and-weft variations have been documented. The names given to Asante kente vary: named after important chiefs, queen mothers, historical events, plants, animals, and proverbs.

Kente is most frequently seen at festivals in southern Ghana and Togo and has its origins in the regalia of the Asante and other Akan groups. By the late nineteenth century it was often found in non-royal arenas and by the end of the twentieth century it was available to anyone who could afford it.

In America, kente has emerged as a potent symbol of identification with Africa. A kente cloth, or its representation, is seen at African American graduations or other ceremonies honoring people for their accomplishments. Other uses of kente, however, have disturbed some Ghanaians, who see a distinctive cloth being marketed as a commercial symbol for all things African.

Silk cloth (imported) and cotton cloth (strip weave)

46 5/8 in. (118.4 cm)

L.: 78 in.

Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

81.17.433

Photo: Paul Macapia

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryWashington, D.C., The Textile Museum, West African Narrow Strip Weaving: The Lamb Collection, Mar. 7 - Sept. 20, 1975.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Hatumere: Islamic Design in West Africa, Sept. 30 - Nov. 28, 1982.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, African Panoplies: Art for Rulers, Traders, Hunters, and Priests, Apr. 21 - Aug. 14, 1988.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Documents International: Reflections in the Mirror: A World of Identity, Apr, 23, 1998 - June 20, 1999.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]). Text by Pamela McClusky. No cat. no., pp. 100, 102, reproduced pl. 56.

Published ReferencesWhite, Evelyn C., ed. The Black Women's Health Book: Speaking for Ourselves. Seattle: Seal Press, 1990; reproduced on cover.

McClusky, Pamela. "Art of Africa." In Selected Works, pp. 35-52. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1991; p. 43, reproduced.

Smith, Sara W., The Permanent African Collection, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington; Opened December 5, 1991, in African Arts, Vol. 25, No. 4, 100th Issue (October 1992), pp. 90-91, image p. 91

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