Sword of Kingship

 

Name of pattern "Sword of Kingship"; image of 1896 Af 0519.4.

‘The technique of wax-printing is inspired by the Indonesian art of batik. Both methods use was a dyed to form designs on cotton cloth. Batik was probably brought to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in the mid-1800s by soldiers serving in the Dutch Army in Java.

In 1893, an enterprising Scottish trader, Ebenezer Brown Fleming, began importing wax-printed cloth from the Netherlands to the Gold Coast. The product became very popular and spread throughout west and central Africa.

Wax prints were produced across Europe and exported to Africa, with African Customers driving the trade. Since the 1960s factories have been established in Ghana and other African countries from Senegal to the Congo. Today, all of the European factories have closed down, except Vlisco in the Netherlands. The Manchester-based factory ABC (Arthur Brunnschweiler and Company) transferred its UK production recently to a sister company in Ghana. However ABC designers in Manchester continue to create patterns for the African wax print factories and visit local markets to gain inspiration and market feedback.

Increasingly, imitation wax prints made in China are being marketed in Africa where their relatively modest cost makes them popular additions to this lively trade.’