GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Kente is the best known and most popular of the Asante textiles. Oral traditions credit a spider’s web-making with having inspired two hunters to create the first kente. Osei Tutu I, the first king of the Asante, reserved the cloth for royals. Over time, with greater varieties of colors and materials, kente became accessible to more of the population.
Silk kente with named designs continue to be limited to Asante elites. These cloths (called wrappers because of the way they are worn) are fashionable for both men and women. For men, a kente wrapper circles the body and may drape over a shoulder like a toga. Women’s kente include two-piece garments or modern, peplum-style long dresses.
The Oyokoman pattern is a warp-stripe composed of wide gold and green stripes embedded in a dark red field. It takes its name from the Oyoko royal clan and is believed to be among the first and most elite of all kente patterns. Oyokoman is the most frequent warp pattern for Adweneasa, a weft design that would overlay the pattern shown here.
Excerpt from
- Roslyn Walker, The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana, Label text, 2018.
NOTES
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Asante: AAT: 300016004
Geography
Ghana (nation): TGN: 1000166
Process/materials
silk (textile): AAT: 300243428
weaving: AAT: 300053642
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
kente: AAT: 300014085
nobility (nobles / aristocracy): AAT: 300025942
patterns (design elements): AAT: 300010108
prestige: AAT: 300343604
royalty (nobility): AAT: 300188750
silk (textile): AAT: 300243428
textiles (visual works): AAT: 300014063
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From c. 1990: Former British High Commissioner to Ghana
2014: Andrés Moraga, Berkeley, California
2015: Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, purchase from above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 2015.12
Category
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General Description
Kente is the best known and most popular of the Asante textiles. Oral traditions credit a spider’s web-making with having inspired two hunters to create the first kente. Osei Tutu I, the first king of the Asante, reserved the cloth for royals. Over time, with greater varieties of colors and materials, kente became accessible to more of the population.
Silk kente with named designs continue to be limited to Asante elites. These cloths (called wrappers because of the way they are worn) are fashionable for both men and women. For men, a kente wrapper circles the body and may drape over a shoulder like a toga. Women’s kente include two-piece garments or modern, peplum-style long dresses.
The Oyokoman pattern is a warp-stripe composed of wide gold and green stripes embedded in a dark red field. It takes its name from the Oyoko royal clan and is believed to be among the first and most elite of all kente patterns. Oyokoman is the most frequent warp pattern for Adweneasa, a weft design that would overlay the pattern shown here.
Excerpt from
- Roslyn Walker, The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana, Label text, 2018.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Asante: AAT: 300016004
Geography
Ghana (nation): TGN: 1000166
Process/materials
silk (textile): AAT: 300243428
weaving: AAT: 300053642
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
kente: AAT: 300014085
nobility (nobles / aristocracy): AAT: 300025942
patterns (design elements): AAT: 300010108
prestige: AAT: 300343604
royalty (nobility): AAT: 300188750
silk (textile): AAT: 300243428
textiles (visual works): AAT: 300014063
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From c. 1990: Former British High Commissioner to Ghana
2014: Andrés Moraga, Berkeley, California
2015: Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund, purchase from above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
2015.12
source file
object_notes_2_d-0259.xml.nores