Ewe and Unidentified
Man’s Cloth
early-mid 20th century?
Scroll
Physical Qualities
Cotton, silk, 75 × 114 in. (190.5 × 289.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Anonymous Gift
Object Number
2023.294
An elite Ewe man clothed himself in this enormous cloth on special occassions, wrapping it around his body then draping the loose end up and over his left shoulder like a toga. Strip-woven from cotton fibers, the dynamic pattern in a riot of solid and marled colors demonstrates the artist's tremendous skill. This textile was stitched together from 24 narrow pieecs woven on a strip loom. It showcases a centuries-long history of artistic exchange between Ewe weavers from southern Ghana and Togo and weavers from the northern Saharan region, who introduced this weaving technology to Ewe artists.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2023; Private collection, by purchase 2014; Andres Moraga
