African Books

A Study in Akan Art and Religion (in Ghana). African International. African Institute. January, 1961. pp. 46-60.

Adda, Rebecca and Kodzo Chapman. "Kente in Modern Fashion." Uhuru Magazine. No. 5 (1990): 19-21.

Adler, P and N. Barnard. African Majesty – The Textile Art of the Ashanti and Ewe. London: Thames and Hudson, 1995. [cover picture] Click Here to Order

Adler, P and N. Barnard. Asafo! African Flags of the Fante. London: 1992.
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African-American Institute. Sakake: Textile Art from West Africa. New York: African-American Institute, 1975. 13 pp.

"African Fabric Art," Black Collegian. 11 (August-September 1980): 189-190.

Aradeon, Susan B. " Enduring Vitality of West African Dress," pp. 133-142. In African Unity: the Cultural Foundations. Lagos: Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization, 1988.

Asamoah, Ernest. Kente Cloth: Introduction to History. ISBN: 0963556606

Ashinger, Phyllis. "Dress and Adornment of African American Entertainers," pp. 179-190. In African American Dress and Adornment: a Cultural Perspective. Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1990. 186 pp.

Asihene, Emmanuel V. "Textile." pp. 56-58. In Understanding the Traditional Art of Ghana. London: Associated University Presses, 1978. A M709 As42

Banchi, D. D. Bonwire Nwentoma. A Bachelor’s Degree Thesis. University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, 1966.

Barkley, S. Adire: Indigo Cloth of Nigeria. Toronto: 1980

Bishopp, Gregory James. A Comparison of the Social and Aesthetic Role of Asante and Ewe Narrow Strip Weaving. A Masters Thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1977.

Blake, John. "A Clash of Cultures." Atlanta Constitution (25 November 1991): 1.

Blier, Suzanne Preston. The Royal Arts of Africa.
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Boahen, A. Adu. "The Caravan Trade in the Nineteenth Century." In Problems in Africa. edited by Robert Collins. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1968.

Boateng, Akuamoah. "Genesis of Kente the Bonwire Story." Uhuru. No. 5 (1990): 24-26.

Bolland, R. Tellem Textiles: Archaeological Finds From Burial Cave in Mali’s Bandiagara Cliff. Amsterdam: 1991[Publisher Out of Stock]

Britt, Donna. "Kente Cloth’s Wiles Have Yet to Unfold." Washington Post B (26 May 1992): 1.

Brownstein, Andrew. "Showdown over Kente Cloth." Washington Post A (12 June 1992): 1.

Burger, Warren. "Kente Case." Washington Post A (6 August 1992): 25.

Calhoun, Catherine. Egyptian Designs. [cover picture not available]Click Here to Order

Caraway, Caren. African Designs: Of the Congo, Nigeria, The Cameroons and the Guinea Coast. [cover picture not available] Click Here to Order

Chartrand, Sabra. "A Dispute over Courtroom Attire and Principles." New York Times B (19 June 1992): 8.

Christian, Angela. "Kente." Facets of Ghanaian Culture. pp. 11-15. Schriesheim- Heidelberg: Books on African Studies, J. Bedu-Addo.

Clarke, Duncan.. The Art of African Textiles.
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Cole, Herbert M. "Kente: a Meaningful Tradition in Cloth," American Visions 5 (October 1990): 18-22.

Coquet, M. Textiles Africaines. Paris: 1998

"D.C. Lawyer Told to Remove African Kente Cloth for Jury Trial." Washington Post F 23 May 1992): 1.

Dendel, E. W. African Fabric Crafts – Sources of African Design and Technique. New York. 1974.

Douglas, Linda B. "Kente Cloth in the Fabric of Campus Life." Black Issues in Higher Education 9 (July 1992): 1, 12.

Dunbar, Donnette. "’Everybody Wants a Piece of Africa Now’." Los Angeles Times E (27 October 1991): 5.

Dzide, Dan. "Kente Fever," [letter to the editor] West Africa (London) 3877 (January 6-12 1992): 4.

Faik-Nzuji, Clementine M. Tracing Membory: A Glossary of Graphic Signs and Symbols in African Art and Culture. ISBN # 0-660-15965-1 [Out of Print]

Gabus, J. Au Sahara – Arts et Symboles. Neuchatel: 1958.

Gaines-Carter, Patrice. "D.C. Lawyer Told to Remove African Kente Cloth for Jury Trial." Washington Post F (23 May 1992): 1.

"Ghana Opens Permanent London Showroom for Handicrafts; Carvings, Art, Cloth, etc.," West African Review 30 (November 1959): 734-735.

Gilroy, Peggy S. "Asante and Ewe Textile Traditions." Patterns of Life: West African Strip-Weaving Traditions. pp. 33-42. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987.

Gilroy, Peggy S. "Catalogue of the Exhibition (Wrapper Asante People, Ghana)." Patterns of Life: West African Strip-Weaving Traditions. pp. 64-85. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987.

Griffin, Brenda E. A Study of Some West African Textiles Designs and Dress. M.S. Thesis, Howard University. 121 pp.

Hall, Robert L. "Savoring Africa in the New World," pp. 161-171. Seeds of Change: a Quincentennial Commemoration. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991.

History, Design and Craft in West African Strip-Woven Cloth. (Symposium). Sponsored by the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution on February 18-19, 1988. 168 pp.

Horn, Diane V. African Nomad Designs. [cover picture not available] Click Here to Order

Horn, Diane V. African Printed Textile Designs.
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Hunter-Gadson, Leslie. "Marketing the Motherland," Black Enterprise 21 (December 1990): 76-82.

Idiens. D. and K. Ponting (eds.). Textiles of Africa. London: 1980

"Judge Objects to Lawyer’s African-Style Cloth." New York Times 1 (24 May 1992): 23.

"Judging the Kente Cloth." Washington Post A (13 June 1992): 20.

Kent, Kate P. Introducing West African Cloth. Denver, CO: Denver Museum of Natural History, 1971. 53 pp.

Lamb, V. and J. Holmes. Nigerian Weaving. Hertfordshire: 1980.

Lamb, V. Au Cameroun – Weaving – Tissage. Hertingfordbury: 1981.

Lamb, V. West African Weaving. London: 1975.

Mack, J. Malagasy Textiles. Aylesbury: 1989.

Messenger, S. Vivier. Broderies Marocaines: Textiles. Paris: 1991. Catalogue Musee des arts d’Afrique et d’Oceanie.

Meurant, G. and R. F. Thompson. Mbuti Design – The Paintings of Pygmy Women of the Ituri Forest. [no cover picture available] Click Here to Order

Meurant, G. Shoowa Design: African Textiles from the Kingdom of Kuba
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Newman, Thelma R. "African Textile Arts." Contemporary African Arts and Crafts: On-Site Working with Art Forms and Processes. pp. 62-65. New York: Crown Publishers, 1974.

Nordquist, B. and S. Aradeon. Traditional African Dress and Textiles. New York: 1998.

Obuobi, R. J. The Development of Textile Designing in Ghana. Bachelors Degree Thesis. University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, 1969.

Ofori-Ansa. Final Report on Kente; More Than a Cloth: A Field Research on the Symbolism, Cultural Context of Usages and Modern Applications of the Asante Kente Cloth. Hyattsville, MD: Sankofa, 1992. 169 pp.

Ofori-Ansa. Kente: More Than a Cloth: The History and Symbolism of Ghana’s Asante Kente Cloth. Hyattsville, MD: Sankofa, 1993.

Owen, Bessie Y. Innovations in Mixed Media Painting Using Traditional African Textile Design Techniques with Contemporary Painting Media. M.A. Thesis, Howard University. 119 pp.

Paine, Sheila. Embroidered Textiles: Traditional Patterns from Five Continents: with Worldwide Guide to Identification. [cover picture]

One of the first books to examine in detail the symbolism of the motifs and designs that give life to marvelous embroidered textiles features a dazzling array of embroideries from all over the world. Lively and informative text explores the relation of designs to different religions, traditions, and cults. Click Here to Order

Patterns of Traditional African Dress, Drawing of Howard University School of Human Ecology. Washington, DC: Howard University, 1975.

Picton, John. and J. Mack. African Textiles. New York: 1989. Out of Print

Picton, John. The Art of African Textiles. Will be Published September, 1999.
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Picton, John. The Art of African Textiles: Technology, Tradition and Lurex. Lund Humphries Publishers, 1996. ISBN#0853316821 Publisher Out of Stock

Picton, John. African Textiles: Looms, Weaving and Design. London: British Museum Publ., 1979. 208 pp.

Plumer, Cheryl. African Textiles; an Outline of Handcrafted Sub-Saharan Fabrics. Michigan: Michigan State University, 1970. 146 pp.

Price, Sally and Richard Price. Maroon Arts: Cultural Vitality in the African Diaspora. [cover picture]

Award-winning anthropologists Sally and Richard Price have produced the first comprehensive exploration of the aesthetic development of the Maroons, descendants of African rebel slaves who won their freedom from the Dutch in the 18th century and lived in the South American rainforests. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 images. Lengthy chapter on their patchwork tradition. Click Here to Order

Rattray, R. S. "Weaving." Religion and Art in Ashanti. pp. 220-263. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1927.

Renne, E. Cloth That Does Not Die: The Meaning of Cloth in Bunu Social Life. [cover picture not available] Click Here to Order

Richardson, Rubye C. Factors Influencing the Choice of Wearing Apparel for Selected Occasion. M.S. Thesis, Howard University, 1951.

Ross, Doran. Fighting with Art: Appliqued Flags of the Fante Asafo. Monograph. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. 1979.

Ross, Doran. Wrapped in Pride: Ghanian Kente and African American Identity. [cover picture not available] BACK ORDERED
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Rovine, V. (curator). Status Symbols: African Textiles and Adornments. Iowa City: 1995.

Rutschowscaya, M. Coptic Fabrics. Paris: 1990. Out of Print

Samuels, Anita M. "Here’s ‘Mickey D’ with Kente Cloth and Artists from Ellington to Jackson." New York Times 3 (18 October 1992): 8.

Schaedler, K. Weaving in African South of the Sahara. Munich: 1987.

Sieber, Roy. African Textiles and Decorative Arts. New York: 1972 exhibition catalogue MOMA

Smith, Shea C. "Kente Motifs." African Arts. 9 (1975): 36-39.

Spencer, Anne M. In Praise of Heroes: Contemporary African Commemorative Cloth. Newark, NJ: Newark Museum, 1983. 39 pp.

Spring, Christopher and Julie Hudson. African Textiles. [cover picture not available] Click Here to Order

Teye, Akpo. "The Traditional Kente Cloth." Image College of Art Journal. 1 (1970): 29-35.

Tillett.L African Art in Needlework. New York: 1979 Out of Print

Traditional African Dress and Textiles: An Exhibition of the Susan B. Aradeon Collection of West African Dress at the Museum of African Art. Washington, DC: Museum of African Art, 1975.

Trowell, M. African Design. New York: 1960.

Trowell, M. African Tapestry. London: 1957.

Verite, P. La Symbolique Africaines. Cannes: 1976.

Wahlman, Maude. Contemporary African Fabrics: An Exhibition From the Girard Foundation. Chicago: 1975 exhibition catalogue

Waldfogel, M. West African Textiles and Garments. Minneapolis: 1980.

Wass, D (B?). and B. Murname. African Textiles. Madison: 1978.

Williams, Geoffrey. African Designs From Traditional Sources. [cover picture not available] Click Here to Order

Yankah, Kwesi. "Around the World in Kente Cloth." Uhuru. No. 5 (1990): 15-17.

Zaskavsky, C. Africa Counts – Number and Pattern in African Culture. Boston: 1975

Many of these publications were compiled in 1994 by Ruth A. Hodges, Reference Librarian at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center of Howard University, Washington, DC.