cloth
- Museum number
- Af2006,15.161
- Description
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Cloth; fancy-printed on cotton; white cloth with bands of green fence-like design; main repeating pattern shield with bird above book labelled "GREAT LAMPTEY MILLS NURSERY/PRIMARY/J.S.S." above, "1963 FOLLOW THE TRUTH" below; cloth produced by Akosombo Textiles Limited, colourways "GREEN 570/WHITE".
- Production date
- 19 November 2003
- Dimensions
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Length: 40 centimetres
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Width: 114.50 centimetres
- Curator's comments
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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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‘Some of the oldest and most popular wax print designs were made to promote literacy. Many are still among the bestsellers today, such as the alphabet cloth, which helps children learn to read. Primary education for children from the age of sixth became free and compulsory immediately following independence. Today, children are entitled to free education until they reach 16 years old.’
Ghanaian schools, colleges and universities widely advertise themselves through fancy prints. They are used to celebrate anniversaries or to make uniforms worn by their pupils or students.’
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Worn by students at Great Lamptey Mills school.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 2006
- Acquisition notes
- Fieldwork collection made jointly by staff from the University of Ghana (Department of Archaeology) and the British Museum (Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas) in 2006 as part of a collaborative research and exhibition project.
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af2006,15.161
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: RSP3143