The Ewe (pronounced ehw-ay) peoples of the Volta delta (Ghana, Togo and Benin) weave a cloth called Kente, closely related to the famous Asante tribe Kente cloth. Both are woven on similar narrow-strip looms, then joined to make larger pieces worn as traditional and ceremonial clothing, which in the ‘west’ we appreciate as bedcovers and wall hangings. These finely woven strips incorporate decorative and meaningful geometric patterns, differing from the Asante Kente in their figurative designs of local fauna and flora, humans or even script.
These are attractive, distinctive and collectable fabrics–a celebration of handwork and colour. For our furnishings, even a simple splash of these bright narrow strips brings zest and joy into a room.
Traditional vegetal coloured Ewe cloth as lengths and made up from Adire African Textiles in London who are a great knowledge resource of African fabric making, printing and weaving and a great supplier of very special textiles.
