Ashanti Nwentoma or Kente Ceremonial Cloth

Tall red cloth strips with golden stripes march down in tidy rows.

This nwentoma or Kente ceremonial cloth is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. Traditionally, kente was woven as thin strips stitched together into a toga-like garment, worn only by chiefs at festivals, on special occasions and during ritual ceremonies. Long rectangle of woven cloth in deep red, laid out in vertical bands with thin gold and dark bars broken into small rectangles. The ends show a woven edge, and the pattern repeats evenly. It is 84 inches wide and 122 long.

Orderly, rich, and deeply fond of a good stripe.