The Fabric of a Nation: textiles and identity in modern
Ghana
22 February – 10 April 2007
Room 3
Admission free
This display marks the 50th anniversary of Ghana’s
independence from Britain (6 March 1957). It focuses on an
important aspect of life and culture cutting across ethnic and
language differences in modern Ghana – printed cloths. A wide
variety of gorgeous printed cloths will be displayed, highlighting
the cultural, social and economic importance of wax and ‘fancy’
prints in the country.
Wax-printed cloths are industrially produced
following a resist-dye technique inspired by the Indonesian art of
batik. Both methods use wax and dye to form designs on cotton
cloth. The story of wax printing in Africa began on the Gold Coast,
where Indonesian batiks were being imported from the
mid-19th century. In 1893, a Scottish trader, Ebenezer
Brown Fleming, introduced the batik-inspired wax prints produced in
Holland by Haarlemse Katoen Maatschappij (HKM) to the Dutch Indies.
The product became popular on the Gold Coast, and spread over West
Africa into Central Africa to become a distinctive African cultural
feature. Wax prints are prestigious cloths with a high social
value. The most popular designs are named, the naming being an
important indicator of adoption. An example would be Akonfona
(Sword of kingship), in which the design references the sword,
a symbol of power and authority in Ghana. Wearing this cloth is a
mark of wealth and status. ‘Fancy prints’ are a version of wax
prints, they are printed on one side by engraved rollers or
printing screens. Examples in the exhibition include Kwame
Nkrumah, Ghanaian independence, 1957, a rare piece from the
British Museum’s collections which was produced to celebrate the
independence of the Gold Coast and the founding of Ghana in 1956
and Guinea Worm Eradication which highlights the
importance of combating the parasitic Guinea worm throughout
Ghana.
Printed cloths are worn as clothes by men,
women and children. They play an important role in daily life and
ceremonies and they have a significant communicative value,
indicating status or wealth, conveying messages as a mean of
non-verbal communication. An example is a cloth featuring the
proverbWeni behu naaso w’ano enntumin nnka (“Your eyes can
see, but your mouth cannot say”), which teaches that not all issues
are suitable for public discussion. Or Physically
Disabled, a cloth made to highlight the needs of disabled
people and to promote issues associated with disability. Cloths are
also widely used as a powerful mass communication media, for
commemorative, political, religious, social and other message
conveying purposes. They play a major economic role through trade
involving a network of wholesale and smaller retailers, in which
women traders play a central role.
The exhibition was produced in partnership
with the Department of Archaeology of the University of Ghana at
Legon Museum. This collaboration is part of the British Museum’s
ongoing ‘Africa Project’. The partnership involved joint field
research in Ghana and the development of two similar collections,
one for the Department of Archaeology of the University of Ghana at
Legon Museum, and the second for the British Museum. The Legon
Museum will also open an exhibition of this material on 6 March
2007.
Besides the exhibition, the 50th
anniversary of Ghanaian independence will be marked at Museum by a
number of events in March, including an evening event on 8 March
with the Ghana High Commissioner, HE Annan Arkyin Cato and many
other community events.
For further information or images please
contact Hannah Boulton on 020 7323 8522 or hboulton@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk