Cloth

20th century

"I have learned through my parents to admire kente and to appreciate that, for most Ghanians, 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)

In Asante courts, cloth was read as a text composed of motifs which depict proverbs, sayings or memories of who wore them and when. Kwasi Yankah, an Asante scholar, has written about a sub-chief who wanted to register his dissatisfaction with a court decision. He appeared before the elders with his cloth inside out, and sandals reversed. Using his cloth and demeanor to defy conformity in a situation that did not allow for direct confrontation, he was able to command immediate attention through this courageous act.

This silk cloth is made of sixteen individual strips that are stitched together. Embedded within the strips are symbolic patterns.

Cotton

50 3/4 x 85 5/8 in. (128.9 x 217.5 cm)

Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

81.17.462

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Not in catalogue.

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

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