Man's cloth

Asante artist

20th century

Synthetic, strip woven, supplementary weft patterning

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A woven textile features a repeating pattern of vertical stripes and small rectangular blocks in shades of red, yellow, green, and black. The top and bottom edges have horizontal bands of similar patterns. Asante <I>nsaduaso</I> (Kente cloth) are given names related to the specific color and pattern of stripes used in the groundcloth. These names may reference historical events, important chiefs or Queen mothers, natural phenomena, plants or animals. Often, a proverb will be associated with the name, giving the cloth yet another dimension of meaning beyond the purely visual. The green and gold stripes on a maroon background identify this cloth as a variation of the <I>Oyokoman</I> pattern, the oldest and most important cloth pattern of the Asante. It commemorates the civil war between two factions of the royal family in the 18th centu