In Ghana, when this fabric passes by, people say “Sika wo ntaban”: money has wings.
Along the edge, a wide band of fine emerald green, anise green and teal stripes undulates like crumpled fabric. White medallions welcome midnight blue and green swallows, each within a saffron orange crescent; the center remains white. Our tribute to the Swallow fabric is called “Ntaban”: “Ntaban” means “the wings” in Twi (Ghana), derived from “Sika wo ntaban”, the Ghanaian name for the fabric.
🕊️ One pattern, a thousand names
Swallows with open wings, each in a medallion: this design has been recognizable in West Africa for over seventy years. In the world of wax print, market women and those who wear the fabrics give it their name.
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Swallows (French-speaking countries): the name given by French speakers.
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Sika wo ntaban (Ghana, Twi): “money has wings”; fortune flies away quickly.
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Ago lè fio homè (Benin): a cloth worn for a marriage proposal or an audience with the king.
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Eneke (Nigeria, Igbo): the bird of an Igbo proverb, it flies without landing.
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Sagbadrè (West Africa).
In Togo, this fabric dressed the crews of Air Afrique, to the point of taking its name.
✨ What the swallows carry
Swallows evoke good fortune, freedom and the transitions from one life to another. The pattern humorously reminds us that wealth can fly away quickly. It is given as a gift for a wedding, a departure or a new home.
Our reinterpretation
On this round plate, the pattern becomes a wide band: emerald green, anise green and teal stripes around white medallions, white center. These plates are decorated to order in our Alfortville workshop: pattern prepared, applied and glazed by hand before firing. The box brings together 6 plates.
At your table
In the soft morning light or at a summer dinner, on a linen tablecloth, the greens and blues draw a living circle. To give as a gift for a wedding, a departure or a new home: good fortune and freedom.
Characteristics
- Contents: 2 large plates, 2 dessert plates, 2 deep plates.
- Colors: emerald green, anise green, teal, midnight blue, saffron orange, white.
- Material: porcelain.
- Large plate: Ø 27 cm, height 3.1 cm.
- Dessert plate: Ø 21 cm, height 2.5 cm.
- Deep plate: Ø 19 cm, height 5.5 cm.
- Box: approximately 3.5 kg.
- Personalization: colors, first name, date or message upon request; modular composition, same price.
- In case of breakage: replacement of the individual piece, same pattern and same dimensions, as long as the shape remains in the catalog.
- In the same pattern: set of 12 square plates, breakfast set (plate, bowl, mug), oval salad bowl.
Write to us to personalize your box — first name, date, message or composition — and let the wings of Ntaban accompany your new beginnings.
Our plates have been used daily by our family for over two years and go through the dishwasher and microwave every day: to date, we have observed no visible wear of the decoration, including contact with cutlery.
Product information – Manufacturer: KEMI HOME ART SAS, 9 rue Pierre Leroux, 94140 Alfortville, France – edo@kemiha.fr. Reference: 10136226595149. Material: Porcelain, ceramic decoration fixed by firing. Advice: avoid thermal shock (hot piece under cold water).
