Man's Kente Wrapper
Asante
1900–1925
- Medium
- Rayon and cotton, twenty-three narrow woven strips with bands of warp-stripe plain weave, warp-stripe plain weave with supplementary brocading wefts; and weft-faced plain weave; joined; main warp fringe
- Dimensions
- 310.5 × 217.2 cm (122 1/4 × 85 1/2 in.); Approximate strip: W.: 9.9 cm (3 7/8 in.)
- Genre
- kente
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
cotton (textile)stripeskenterayonasantecheckerboardswarp patterninggeometricclothingafricanstrip weavingbrocadinggarmentarts of AfricaCoastal West AfricaAfrican Textilesrectangles20th CenturyTextileweavinggeometric motifplain weaving
About
Kente is composed of narrow strips of patterned cloth sewn together edge-to-edge to form a single, large garment. Its distinctive checkerboard pattern is produced by aligning the selected cloth strips in a particular order; with each geometric motif communicating ideas, events, or proverbs important to the wearer. Kente cloth is wrapped around the body and draped over one shoulder, and often worn by a person of great importance, including Asante royalty.
