cloth
- Museum number
- Af1993,15.2
- Description
-
Cloth; fancy-printed on cotton; cream cloth printed with brown border of stars inside wavy lines; main repeating image picture of man with banner below reading "FIRST PRIME MINISTER DOCTOR KWAME NKRUMAH"; along bottom edge Ghana coat of arms (bird on either side of shield with banner below reading "FREEDOM AND JUSTICE") alternating with two crossed Ghanaian flags with banner below reading "MARCH 6 1957 GHANA INDEPENDENCE".
- Production date
- 1957
- Dimensions
-
Length: 193 centimetres
-
Width: 121 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
Probably designed and printed in England for the market in West Africa.
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'Fancy prints are cheaper to produce and buy, but their designs often imitate the wax prints. They are printed on one side only by engraved rollers or printing screens. These cloths often feature photographic images making them a popular choice for commemorating or promoting important social political or cultural events.
Both wax and fancy print cloths are bought at market and given to tailors to make clothes worn by men, women or children.’
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‘Printed cloths are widely used in Ghana as a means of mass communication, cutting across ethnic, linguistic and social boundaries. Fancy cloths are most often used for this purpose as their cheaper method of production encourages shorter print run. They are able to respond promptly to current political concerns and to highlight contemporary issues. They are popular also as a means of conveying information through visual recognition as they can include photographic images. Prominent public figures or aspiring politicians favour this means of advertising
Fancy cloths display images of mottos of political parties at election time and are worn at rallies by party members. Printed cloths may celebrate a political event or commemorate state visits by important personalities.’
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibition History:
2017-2018, 10 Nov 2017 - 18 Feb 2018, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai, India, India and the World: A History in Nine Stories
2018, 6 May- 30 June, National Museum, New Delhi, India and the World: A History in Nine Stories
- Associated events
- Commemoration of: Ghana Independence 1957
- Acquisition date
- 1993
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af1993,15.2
