Minimal One –Ewe “kente”

In this series of posts I will highlight some rare West African textiles where the elaboration and complexity of design that usually typifies high status textiles is replaced by a more minimal aesthetic….

Ewe660 - Exceptional nineteenth century Ewe chief’s cloth in a style called "titriku" meaning just "thick cloth." Red cotton thread purchased from European traders on the coast was highly prized by the Ewe and quickly incorporated in their design repertoire. Here it is combined with local hand spun indigo dyed and white cotton, which is an indicator of an early date - 99.9% of Ewe cloths collected use only imported thread. Although the red has faded over the years we can still note that several different shades were used giving a subtle visual variation. Note also that only one out of the hundreds of red squares has a white stripe across. Condition - has some patched repairs. Size: 115 ins x 74, 292cm x 189.

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For more information please visit our gallery of Ewe textiles here