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.
Comprising sixteen strips, this kente cloth features narrow stripes and motifs created by the weft (cross-strip threads). The gingham weft design has various names, including asambo (the breast of the guinea fowl), asam ntakra (guinea fowl feathers), and kotwa (scar). Guinea fowl feathers are associated with sacredness and spiritual healing, as well as physical elegance.
Adapted from
- Roslyn Walker, The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana, Label text, 2018.
NOTES
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Akan (culture): AAT: 300016000
Asante: AAT: 300016004
Geography
Ghana (nation): TGN: 1000166
Bonwire (inhabited place): TGN: 7668940
Process/materials
weaving: AAT: 300053642
silk (textile): AAT: 300243428
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
prestige: AAT: 300343604
nobility (nobles / aristocracy): AAT: 300025942
kente: AAT: 300014085
patterns (design elements): AAT: 300010108
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1960-2009: Donald Simmons, United Kingdom
2009-2016: Kapil Jariwala, London
2016-2017: Andrés Moraga, Berkeley
From 2017: Dallas Museum of Art, African Collection Fund purchase from above
The main source for this provenance is information already entered in TMS.
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VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
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Apply to objects where number equals 2017.20.4
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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.
Comprising sixteen strips, this kente cloth features narrow stripes and motifs created by the weft (cross-strip threads). The gingham weft design has various names, including asambo (the breast of the guinea fowl), asam ntakra (guinea fowl feathers), and kotwa (scar). Guinea fowl feathers are associated with sacredness and spiritual healing, as well as physical elegance.
Adapted 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
Akan (culture): AAT: 300016000
Asante: AAT: 300016004
Geography
Ghana (nation): TGN: 1000166
Bonwire (inhabited place): TGN: 7668940
Process/materials
weaving: AAT: 300053642
silk (textile): AAT: 300243428
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
prestige: AAT: 300343604
nobility (nobles / aristocracy): AAT: 300025942
kente: AAT: 300014085
patterns (design elements): AAT: 300010108
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1960-2009: Donald Simmons, United Kingdom
2009-2016: Kapil Jariwala, London
2016-2017: Andrés Moraga, Berkeley
From 2017: Dallas Museum of Art, African Collection Fund purchase from above
The main source for this provenance is information already entered in TMS.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
2017.20.4
source file
object_notes_2_d-0244.xml.nores