Silk Screen Handwoven Cotton Shawl from Ghana, "Collective Wisdom"

By Ghana's Charity Jobarteh, this dramatic cotton shawl depicts West African adinkra symbols. These visual icons convey collective wisdom or sayings. The Ghanaian artist weaves the shawl of cotton, creating the motifs with the silk screen technique.

Adinkras take their names from the Akan language.

• Mmusuyidee is a square with lines moving from each corner toward the center. A symbol of good fortune and sanctity, it represents "that which removes bad luck."

• Dwennimmen is comprised of four spirals that meet in the center and depicts ram's horns. It is a symbol of humility together with strength.

• Nkotimsefo Mpua, with its four arms, is known as "the hair style of court attendants" and represents service and loyalty.

• Nyame Biribi Wo Soro links two vertical ovals with a diamond shape in the center. It is a reminder that God is in the heavens.

• Nkyinkyim is depicted as thick vertical lines that move back and forth to culminate in four short perpendicular lines. The word means "twisting" and it is a symbol of initiative, dynamism and versatility.

• Fihankra looks a bit like a curving formée cross that is open in the center. Its shape represents that house/compound and Fihankra represents security and safety.

• Mmra Krado, the seal of law is a symbol is an oval with two sections, joined in the center by a padlock. It is a symbol of authority.

• Mpuankron shows nine squares forming a cross and the squares represent tufts of hair. It is a symbol of priestly office, loyalty, and adroitness.

• Ananse Ntontan, or spider's web, is a circle surrounded by seven rays. It is a symbol of wisdom, creativity and the complexities of life.

• Nsoromma takes the shape of a sunburst. Meaning "child of the heavens" or "child of the stars," it represents guardianship.

• Bi Nka Bi shows two fish that bite each other. A symbol of peace and harmony, its meaning is "No one should bite the other."