Object Details
- Label Text
- The narrow strip kente cloth made by Asante weavers is renowned in Ghana and internationally. Each kente, or strip-woven cloth, has multiple meanings. The cloth is identified primarily by the designs woven into the warp, or lengthwise threads, which are usually associated with a proverb or event. Patterns are also woven into the weft, or crosswise threads. Kente colors also have symbolic meanings. This cloth, Oyoko ne Dako, refers to two clans that were involved in a royal succession dispute in the early 18th century. The number of strips suggests that this cloth has served as a man's dance wrapper.
- Description
- Man's silk dance wrappper composed of 16 strips of repeating patterns.
- Provenance
- Venice and Alastair Lamb, acquired Bonwire, 1969 to 1983
- Exhibition History
- TxtStyles: Fashioning Identity, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 11-December 7, 2008
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Asante artist
- Date
- Early to mid-20th century
- Credit Line
- National Museum of African Art, National Museum of Natural History, purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, 1983-85, EJ10578
- Medium
- Silk, synthetic dye
- Dimensions
- H x W: 216 x 142cm (85 1/16 x 55 7/8in.)
- Type
- Textile and Fiber Arts
