Object Details
- Description
- Twelve-strip woven kente cloth, dark purple in overall coloration, plain weave and ornamented with supplemental weft diamond, checkboard, rectangular, trapezoid geometric motifs and representational comb, pocket comb, elephant, turtle, and human motifs, and embellished with an Ewe-language inscription and date, “1.12.1929 ECBEMENYO AMETETI.” The inscription and supplemental weft designs are woven of light-colored white, yellow, green, pink and other threads that contrast with the overall purple hue of the cloth. The narrow strips were stitched together using a sewing machine. At some point in the cloth’s history – either when it was woven or later when the narrow-loom strips were reassembled and machine-stitched together – the inscribed strip was mistakenly attached in reverse; it was acquired by the donor in that condition. Museum conservators will reverse this strip so that the inscription is legible – as it was meant to be read and was not meant to be viewed in reverse. Research continues on translating the inscription.
- Provenance
- Charles D. Miller III, Saint James, New York, early 1980s to 2015
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Ewe artist
- Date
- 1929
- Credit Line
- Gift of Charles D. Miller III
- Medium
- Cotton, synthetic fiber
- Dimensions
- H x W: 175.5 × 114.7 cm (69 1/8 × 45 3/16 in.)
- Type
- Textile and Fiber Arts
