Asante Textile Arts
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1993.384.2 -
2010.555 -
2007.96
Works of Art (4)
Essay
Akan textile arts were key markers of status and dominion, while the act of weaving itself had mythological and ceremonial resonance. This was especially true of a type of cloth called kente (1993.384.2), which was linked in Akan mythology to the spider Ananse, the first weaver. Its production was subject to certain behavioral sanctions and weavers made offerings to their looms when these prohibitions were broken. Kente is woven in narrow strips by master weavers who use a complex technique called “floating weave” to achieve the intricate designs associated with this cloth. The strips are then sewn together, creating broad panels of striking beauty and compositional complexity. Because of its expense and symbolic associations, only persons of high rank wore kente, and certain patterns were reserved solely for the king’s use. Originally, these cloths were made of white cotton with woven designs of indigo-dyed thread. By the seventeenth century, however, luxurious silks imported by European traders were incorporated, resulting in the vibrant and richly hued textiles that are so admired today.
Alexander Ives Bortolot
Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University
October 2003
Citation
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Asante Textile Arts.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/asan_3/hd_asan_3.htm (October 2003)
Further Reading
Blier, Suzanne Preston. The Royal Arts of Africa: The Majesty of Form. New York: Abrams, 1998.
Cole, Herbert M., and Doran H. Ross. The Arts of Ghana. Los Angeles: Museum of Cultural History, University of California, 1977.
Additional Essays by Alexander Ives Bortolot
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Ana Nzinga: Queen of Ndongo.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Art of the Asante Kingdom.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Asante Royal Funerary Arts.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “The Bamana Ségou State.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Dona Beatriz: Kongo Prophet.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Exchange of Art and Ideas: The Benin, Owo, and Ijebu Kingdoms.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Gold in Asante Courtly Arts.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Idia: The First Queen Mother of Benin.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Kingdoms of Madagascar: Malagasy Funerary Arts.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Kingdoms of Madagascar: Malagasy Textile Arts.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Kingdoms of Madagascar: Maroserana and Merina.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Kingdoms of the Savanna: The Kuba Kingdom.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Kingdoms of the Savanna: The Luba and Lunda Empires.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Origins and Empire: The Benin, Owo, and Ijebu Kingdoms.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Political African Women of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Portraits of African Leadership.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Portraits of African Leadership: Living Rulers.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Portraits of African Leadership: Memorials.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Portraits of African Leadership: Royal Ancestors.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Trade Relations among European and African Nations.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “The Transatlantic Slave Trade.” (October 2003)
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Ways of Recording African History.” (October 2003)
