Ashanti Nwentoma or Kente Ceremonial Cloth

Mustard-yellow cloth in a patchwork grid of small checks and marks.

This nwentoma or Kente ceremonial cloth is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. The Adae Kese festival, which dates to the late seventeenth century and commemorates the creation of the Ashanti Kingdom, is one occasion where kente is especially prevalent. Wide cloth woven in soft mustard yellow, with a checkerboard layout filled with tiny dark symbols and small red flecks. Darker bands decorate the ends, and one edge carries a frayed fringe. It is 129 inches wide and 86 long.

A thousand small decisions, all woven in a straight line.