As LACMA prepares for the 2026 public opening of the new David Geffen Galleries, the future home of the museum’s permanent collection spanning a breadth of eras and cultures, we’re sharing 50 iconic artworks that will be on view in the building over the next 50 weeks in the series 50 Works 50 Weeks.
Large prestige garment textiles (adanudo) are a symbol of status among the Ewe people of Ghana. This specially commissioned cloth is composed of long, narrow bands of superior-quality cotton, handwoven on a backstrap loom by a skilled male Ewe weaver. Each band is composed of vibrant, multicolored vertical and horizontal stripes with supplementary-weft geometric patterns.
When stitched together, the combined bands form blocks of varied patterns that do not repeat in a regular sequence, creating dynamic tension and movement. Reserved for the exclusive use of chiefs and village elites, adanudo are wrapped around the body and over one shoulder, much like a Roman toga.
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