Object Details
Maker
Nana Tiko
Asante artist
Label Text
Woven by Nana Tiko in Bonwire, this silk wrapper is handsewn of eight strips with a repeating geometric composition of blocks with zigzags and checkers. In West Africa, cloth is made of wool, cotton or silk, or combinations of these materials. Woven on narrow strip looms, they are then hand or machine-sewn together to create large wrappers, cloths or blankets with patterns dyed or woven into the fabric.
The cloth type is known as Asasia, the rarest and most prestigious of the cloths. It is woven on three pairs of heddles, producing a distinctive twill pattern in the diagonal alignment of the weft floats. The third pair of heddles allows for a more intricate weft pattern.
Asasia cloths are the exclusive prerogative of the Asantehene and those he designates. They were traditionally woven by a single family of weavers in Bonwire. When Venice Lamb was conducting her research from 1968 to 1972, she was told that there was only one weaver in the town who remembered the twill patterns and that he was no longer able to execute them. During research as recently as 1997, however, several weavers were reported as being capable of producing Asasia. It was only commissions from the Asantehene or other entitled chiefs that were lacking. Regardless, it is evident that these are the most labor intensive weavings.
Lamb, Venice. 1975. West African Weaving. London: Duckworth, pp. 125-128.
Ross, Doran. 1998. Wrapped in Pride. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, p. 81.
Description
Silk wrapper composed of eight strips with fringed ends and featuring repeating geometric designs in yellow, red, green and black checkered and zig zag motif.
Provenance
Venice and Alastair Lamb, England, purchased in Bonwire, Ghana, 1970 to 1983-1985
Published References
Ross, Doran. 1998. Wrapped in Pride. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, pp. 81, 298, nos. 6.15, 8.
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Credit Line
National Museum of African Art, National Museum of Natural History, purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, 1983-85, EJ10579
Date
Early-late 19th century
Object number
EJ10579
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Textile and Fiber Arts
Medium
Silk, synthetic dye
Dimensions
H x W: 154 x 65.2 cm (60 5/8 x 25 11/16 in.)
Geography
Bonwire, Ghana
See more items in
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source
National Museum of African Art
Topic
Status
Adornment
Female use
geometric motif
male
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmafa_EJ10579