Unrecorded artist, Ewe Peoples

Notes

This Ewe cloth showcases the technical precision of the weaving traditions of Ghana and Togo. It is unusual in the vibrancy of the yarn chosen, which suggests some playfulness on the part of the person who commissioned it. Woven on the double-heddle narrow-strip loom (an essential instrument of Ewe textile production) it consists of individually crafted strips, each controlled with exacting tension and patterning before being joined into a cohesive whole. The method allows for intricate alternations of colour, rhythm, and structure that define the visual identity of Ewe weaving.

A typical feature of this work is the use of supplementary-float designs, where additional weft yarns are floated across the surface to introduce symbolic motifs and heightened texture. Here, these floats appear in vivid colours, creating crisp chromatic contrasts with a bold yet balanced structure. The resulting composition—dense with stripes, checks, and floating motifs—carries a visual language that feels unexpectedly familiar. Its interplay of geometry and saturated colour can evoke the abstract sensibilities of Western modernists such as Paul Klee and Hans Hofmann, whose work was shaped by Cubism and by the vibrant palettes of artists like Robert Delaunay and Matisse. Crucially, those European movements were themselves indebted to African visual traditions, including textiles like this, which informed their formal experimentation.

Provenance

Michael Heuermann.