Images(3)

Kente Cloth: (Nkontompo Ntama, "liar's cloth")

Label TextThis kente is said to have been worn by a king as a means of questioning the sincerity of people who came before him. "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.

Object number81.17.466

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

Exhibition HistorySeattle, 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. 99-100, reproduced pl. 54.

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions99 11/16 in. (253.2 cm) L.: 124 13/16 in.

MediumCotton cloth (strip weave)