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OLD EWE "DOUBLE WEAVE" WOMAN'S COVERING browse these categories for related items... Directory: Antiques:Regional Art:African:Textiles: Pre 1920: Item # 454351
AnthroArts By Appointment Only San Diego, California 619-801-1553 Guest Book SOLD |
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| Ewe Peoples, South-eastern Ghana and neighboring border with Togo, early 20th century. An old woman's 'double-woven' textile, meant to be wrapped around the body like a sarong. The Ewe (pronounced 'ev-a') excelled in a narrow-strip weaving tradition, like their neighboring Ashante, although the Ewe are acclaimed as the finest weavers of all of Africa, and indeed, it is their wearing their 'wrappers' that gave rise to the expressions of "walk in beauty" and "art in motion" and others. The appearance of a 'double-woven' textile is accomplished by a 'supplementary weft' weaving technique, so that a different design appears on one side, than the other; in this early example, executed by a first-use of cross-continent trade, maroon-dyed silk thread from Tunisia would date to around circa 1920's, and the early conservative use of simple colors to place this piece to no later than probably circa 1930's or so. In their relatively conservative society, it was the size of their 'wrappers' more than anything else that determined the gender of the wearer; in this piece, the overall dimensions of 75" x 53" (190 cm. x 135 cm.) would define the use of this textile to be worn by a woman, wrapped sarong style, while larger examples were worn by the men, in the manner of a toga. As with most true early Ewe weavings, this particular example has some minor condition aspects - a few separations, a minor stain, etc., and has never really been cleaned - which do not really detract from the overall artistry nor authenticity of the piece. | ||
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