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CHOICE Review

The sumptuous publication of a large (presumably private) collection of the narrow-strip textiles woven by the Ashanti and the Ewe peoples in Ghana and Togo. The authors are experts on textiles in general: Adler has curated exhibitions in Britain of textiles from Africa and the Pacific, and Barnard has published extensive popular work on kilim rugs, Indian textiles, and folk art. More than 150 of the very complex and colorful textiles are illustrated in color, with detailed notes that describe the type of cloth, the local name, its ethnic origin, type of yarn, size, and number of strips. The text describes the history of the Ashanti and the Ewe, the history of weaving by both peoples, the types of looms they use, and the techniques by which the cloth is produced. Much of the text is based on first-hand research in Ghana and Togo, though substantial text is based on the publications of R. S. Rattray (Religion and Art in Ashanti, 1927) and Venice and Alistair Lamb (West African Weaving, 1975). The book is useful as a catalogue of a large number of these very beautiful and intricate weavings. The illustrations of the textiles are of the very best quality, but the few photographs of weavers at work or of Africans wearing the cloth are so printed as to be mere decoration and are useless as sources of information. C. D. Roy; University of Iowa