Ewe
Ghana
Woman's Kente Wrappers
INV-1601
Ewe
GhanaMid–20th century
Woman's Kente Wrappers
Ewe Ghana →eweArts of AfricaafricanCoastal West Africakenteweaving
Date
Mid–20th century
Medium
.1: Pieced of 15 strips of cotton, warp striped plain weave with supplementary patterning and brocading wefts and self-patterned by bands of ground weft-floats
.2: Pieced of 12 strips of cotton, warp striped plain weave with supplementary patterning and brocading wefts and self-patterned by bands of ground weft-floats
Dimensions
.1: 172 × 137.4 cm (67 3/4 × 54 1/8 in.)
.2: 166 × 106.8 cm (65 3/8 × 42 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Gil and Roda Graham
Although kente is widely associated with Asante people, their Ewe neighbors also produce garments using a similar technique. The blue-and-white color scheme of these wrappers recalls early kente cloth made by both the Asante and the Ewe in the 18th century. Woven with undyed and indigo-dyed cotton, the narrow strips of light and dark rectangles are arranged to create the characteristic kente checkerboard pattern. The two cloths seen here would have been worn as a set, with the larger rectangular panel worn around the woman’s torso and the square cloth worn as shawl or a head wrap, depending on the occasion.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
