Kente textile from the Ashante people of Ghana . This piece has been woven from hand spun cotton and natural indigo dyes. As with all Kente this piece has a story to tell.

The design on the textile is called `A thousand shields ` and would be worn by  a high ranking wife of an Ashante warrior. This is a complicated piece of weaving only afforded by higher ranking individuals within the group. The piece was collected in the Kumasi area which is the heartland of the Ashante. The piece measures 260cm x 140 cm.

It lends itself to many applications , bed cover , sofa throw or table cover are only a few examples. The item will date from around 1940.

A very rare example of weaving in rayon from the Ewe people of the Volta region of Ghana in West Africa. Datin from the mid 1950`s this piece of weaving will have been created as an alter cloth for a local church and will have been one of the first pieces of rayon weaving produced by the Ewe with the rayon having been imported from the United Kingdom. There are several floating motifs sewn into the main fabric of an Ecclesiastical nature. This piece would make a very interesting table covering .