Man's cloth

Anlo Ewe artist

20th century

Synthetic, cotton, strip woven, supplementary weft patterning

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A woven textile features a green background with vertical dark blue stripes. Small, colorful geometric and symbolic motifs are scattered across the surface, with a decorative border at the top and bottom. The Ewe people include several distinct cultural groups, two of which have significant Kente traditions. The Ewe Anlo produce a cloth that is very different from the Asante or the Ewe Adangbe styles. Eliminating the blocks and stripes of color, Anlo weavers float typical Ewe motifs, such as umbrellas, hands, combs, and drums, on a plain ground or on a surface of subtle striping. Strips containing imagery alternate with strips segmented by narrow color bars. The effect conveys a sense of lightness and spontaneity that contrasts dramatically with the precision of the traditional basket weave layout of the other groups. Gallery Not on