An Indigo Strip Weave Robe from Togo

AGB114 - Much prized by lovers of indigo, these smock-like robes were worn by hunters and other senior men in the forested central and northern regions of the Benin Republic and Togo. A rare image of one being worn by the Paramount Chief of the Cabrais (today Kabiye or Kabye) prople, circa 1930, is shown below.

Hand-tailored from three different patterned indigo hand spun cotton thread strip weaves with a plain indigo in a lighter shade lining the shoulders and hem. Ten years or so ago there were quite a few of these around in Accra but more recently they have become rather scarce in acceptable condition and prices for rare unpatched and unstained examples as good as this have risen accordingly.

Condition: excellent. Age: first half of C20th. Measures: approx. 43 inches x 57, 110cm x 145.

Click on the photos to enlarge. To see this and other robes we have for sale click here.

Adinkra studio portrait, Togo.

Elder wearing an adinkra cloth. Studio portrait, Togo. Stamp on the reverse reads “Elegance Photo Studio, S.Adewola, Niamtougou, Togo.” Date stamped 14 March 1985.

Click here to view our selection of adinkra cloths.

An Ewe chief, Togo, circa 1920

The same chief wearing the same cloth in a different photograph may be seen in Venice Lamb’s book “West African Weaving” (1980). At the moment we have a particularly fine example of the style of cloth he is wearing, with weft-faced blocks alternating along each strip of cloth with supplementary weft float motifs.

More details and a wider selection of Ewe cloths here.

Cloth of the month: an unique Ewe related textile.

Ewe646 - Unique nineteenth century cloth collected in the Ewe speaking region on the Ghana/ Togo border. No other examples of this style of cloth are known as yet, but we can see affinities to the Ewe tradition, and to several other cloths shown at the moment on the Ewe gallery - notably the use of a distinct red cotton border strip at the lower edge, and the narrow weft faced bands that precede the fringe at each end.

Other aspects of the decoration though are not known from any other Ewe textiles - red thread is used to weave triangular shaped weft inserts, mainly in groups of three, at irregular intervals throughout the cloth, in an unusually minimal application of a tapestry weave effect that has been used more extensively to create a kind of zigzag patterning all over cloths decorated in a style Ewe weavers call "Danhume".

Even more oddly there are threads of red, blue, or red and blue in combination, inserted as supplementary wefts, again mainly in groups of three, that are allowed to hang loosely from the front of the fabric. Most of these inserts are at the centre of a cloth strip, some are at the edge. The white and blue threads are handspun cotton. Altogether a very interesting cloth. However there are serious condition issues with the piece - it has quite a number of mostly faint stains as shown, and a few small holes which have been patched on the reverse face by a professional conservator. The price reflects these condition issues. Measurements: 93ins x 62, 236cm x 157.

Click on the photos to enlarge. More details on our Ewe gallery here.

A unique Ewe kente

Ewe653 - Unique early Ewe chief’s cloth in a previously unknown style. Distinctive geometric supplementary weft float motifs in pale blue, yellow, and white cotton play around with variations on triangles, zigzags and lines on a background made up of narrow red cotton stripes on hand spun indigo dyed cotton. One figurative motif, which appears to represent a frog, picks up on the zigzags designs. At the lower edge is a composite strip in which the motifs are narrowed to leave space for a solid red border. Red borders, either as an edge to a standard width strip or a separate narrower strip, were found on a number of styles of early Ewe cloth and may be indicative of historical links with Dioula weavers from Mali.

The use of hand spun thread in an Ewe cloth is extremely rare and may be indicative of an early date. A number of peoples on the periphery of the Ewe speaking region who now regard themselves as Ewe may earlier have had other more local identities and it is possible that this cloth is an example of one of these previously un-noticed regional variants, or perhaps of an Ewe influenced neighbouring group. Date: probably C19th. Condition: The cloth is complete and intact but has three small circular patches (under 2 cm diameter) taken from another cloth. It also has a number of faint but still perceptible stains. Nevertheless it is a beautiful and fascinating piece and as we noted, the only known example of the style. Size: 95 ins x 60, 242cm x 153, PRICE: Email for price.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

For more exceptional Ewe kente cloths please visit our gallery here.

A Weft Faced Ewe Kente

Continuing our exploration of some recent additions to our Ewe Kente gallery today’s post looks at a dramatic style of weft faced Ewe cloth in which solid blocks of colour are arranged in patterns across the fabric.

Ewe649 - Fine Ewe chief's cotton cloth in the weft faced, so-called "checkerboard" style, with subtle variation in the shades of green and pale greenish brown used with the bolder red, blue, and yellow blocks. It is rare to find cloths of this style that are, as this one is, complete and intact with no patches or repairs. Condition is excellent, age circa 1910-30s. Measurements: 130ins x 70, 330cm x 178.

Click on photos to enlarge…

The Ewe name for these heavyweight weft faced cloths is titriku which just means “thick cloth.” It is possible that they are primarily the work of weavers in the more northerly and easterly, and perhaps peripheral regions of what is now regarded as the Ewe regions of Ghana and Togo, although much further research is needed. The late C19th Basel Mission photograph below (reproduced in Lamb West African Weaving 1975), which shows the man at the left wearing a similar cloth, is one of several that confirm that this style was produced in area in the nineteenth century at least, if not earlier. The chief at the centre may be seen, wearing what appears to be the same cloth, in another image on our website here.

In photographs they can sometimes be confused with superficially similar block patterned cloths called tapi woven in Mali, a much more recent tradition that Bernhard Gardi sees as dating only from the 1950s. However the latter have different layouts, different colour combinations, and a different weight and texture.

For this and other fine Ewe cloths please visit our Gallery here.