Fante Asafo Flag, Ghana, circa 1960

View Similar Items

20th Century Fante Asafo Flag, Ghana

Mid-20th Century Fante Asafo Flag, Ghana

Large Ghanaian Fante Flag

Large FRamed Ghanaian Fante Flag

Richard Kemble Wood Collage "Flag", circa 1975

Framed Yacht "Y" Signal Flag

Nude Abstract Painting circa 1960's

Metal Altarpiece Artwork, circa 1960

Framed Butterflies Artwork, circa 1960

French Faience Plate Quimper, circa 1960

French Faience Plate Quimper circa 1960

About the Item

A large and graphically stunning Asafo flag. Fante flags represent the merger of two cultural traditions, the Akan tradition of combining proverbs with visual imagery and the European heraldic tradition, which used flags and banners displaying royal arms in regimental colors. The Fante are a Sub-group of the Akan people from Ghana. Even though Akan societies had no standing army, the Asafo (a people’s militia) was a well-established social and political organization based on martial principles. Every able-bodied person belonged to an Asafo group; every child automatically belonged to his or her father’s company. The Asafo flags are essentially tribal flags that were used from colonial times to the present. The Union Jack is borrowed from the British colonizers. Each Asafo company designed its own flag, which expressed its strength and, quite often, the inferiority of the adversary. On important occasions the flags were shown and special dancing was done. These exhibitions could result in little feuds when a depicted prank on a flag caused offense to another party. A competitor could be depicted as a pack of vultures or as a school of fish, eating its fill, only to be eaten by the crocodile, the flag’s company. Apart from this rivalry, proverbs from everyday life could be depicted, reflecting the importance of proverbs throughout Akan culture. The oldest examples date from the second half of the 19th century, but even today these flags are being made. There are, however, restrictions for replacement of old by new flags. Each new flag has to be approved by the highest authority within the hierarchy and subsequently has to be inaugurated in a special ritual.

Dimensions:
Height: 40 in (101.6 cm)Width: 48 in (121.92 cm)Depth: 0.1 in (2.54 mm)
Materials and Techniques:
Fabric
Place of Origin:
Ghana
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Mid-20th Century
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU104801629222

More From This Seller

View All

20th Century Fante Asafo Flag, Ghana

Located in New York, NY

A large and graphically stunning Fante asafo flag. Fante flags represent the merger of two cultural traditions, the Akan tradition of combining pro...

Category

Mid-20th Century Ghanaian Decorative Art

Materials

Fabric

20th Century Fante Asafo Flag, Ghana

$3,500

Mid-20th Century Fante Asafo Flag, Ghana

Located in New York, NY

A large and graphically stunning asafo flag. Fante flags represent the merger of two cultural traditions, the Akan tradition of combining proverbs with ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Ghanaian Tribal Art

Mid-20th Century Fante Asafo Flag, Ghana

$1,800

Mid-19th Century Hawaiian Food Platter

Located in New York, NY

A well-aged meat platter (pa laau) from the Hawaiian Islands. The shallow, warmly colored dish was carved from a single, slender plank of wood, likely from the Artocarpus altilis, or...

Category

Antique 19th Century American Platters and Serveware

Materials

Wood

Mid-19th Century Hawaiian Food Platter

$3,500

19th Century Original Photograph of Camps Bay, South Africa

Located in New York, NY

A rare original albumen print of Camps Bay, South Africa.

Category

Antique 19th Century South African Photography

19th Century Original Photograph of Camps Bay, South Africa

$750

19th Century Original Photograph of Beja Warriors, Sudan

Located in New York, NY

An original 19th century albumen studio portrait of two Beja warriors from Sudan. The Beja are a group of nomadic shepherds who live scattered across the desert regions of Sudan, ...

Category

Antique 19th Century Sudanese Photography

19th Century Original Photograph of Beja Warriors, Sudan

$1,450

19th Century Siberian Eskimo Pipe, Alaska

Located in New York, NY

Siberian Eskimo people were introduced to tobacco in the 17th century, acquiring it from European traders in exchange for furs. Pipes based on European models, such as this example, ...

Category

Antique 19th Century Native American Objects

Materials

Wood, Leather, Hide

19th Century Siberian Eskimo Pipe, Alaska

$2,500

Vintage 1940s Ghanaian Decorative Art

Materials

Cotton, Beech

Large Ghanaian Fante Flag

$1,802

Large FRamed Ghanaian Fante Flag

Located in London, GB

A large Ghanaian hand stitched Fante Asafo flag, in a dark walnut frame. Depicting the Union Jack, a central lion, surrounded by four clubs.

Category

Vintage 1940s Ghanaian Decorative Art

Materials

Cotton, Beech

Large FRamed Ghanaian Fante Flag

$1,802

Richard Kemble Wood Collage "Flag", circa 1975

Located in New York, NY

A wood collage by the American artist Richard Kemble. Title "Flag", this art piece was created by using multiple slabs of wood cut and staked to resemble the US flag. Signed on botto...

Category

Late 20th Century American American Craftsman Decorative Art

Materials

Wood

Richard Kemble Wood Collage "Flag", circa 1975

$4,500

Framed Yacht "Y" Signal Flag

Located in Norwell, MA

Framed yacht Signal flag representing "Y". Alternating red and gold stripes. Matted and framed. Dimensions: 20" H x 25" L.

Category

20th Century Decorative Art

Framed Yacht "Y" Signal Flag

$342

Nude Abstract Painting circa 1960's

Located in New York, NY

A beautifully executed kneeling nude woman with face buried in her cascading hair...purchased in a NYC Gallery in the 1960s it's a striking large and maste...

Category

Vintage 1960s American Paintings

Materials

Brass

Nude Abstract Painting circa 1960's

$7,500

Metal Altarpiece Artwork, circa 1960

Located in Barcelona, ES

Antique metal altarpiece wall artwork. Made by unknown artist in Spain, circa 1960. In original condition, with minor wear consistent of age and use, preserving a beautiul pat...

Category

Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art

Materials

Fabric

Metal Altarpiece Artwork, circa 1960

$424 Sale Price

61% Off