Antique Fante Asafo Flag (Crab and Snake) - 1920's/30's

$3,200.00

This excellent pre-independence Fante Asafo flag from Ghana is a true treasure.  A wonderful, highly collectible, decorative art piece that tells of a distinct part of African Colonial history.  This flag depicts an all embroidered Crab and Snake, which are powerful emblems in the Asafo lexiconography.

Size: 30 x 58"

Stitching:  hand stitched

Material: felt/synthetic/hand embroidery

Canton: United Kingdom

Proverb: unknown

workshop: Unknown

age: 1920's or 30's

Condition: holes and staining commensurate with age.

*This particular flag is a pre-independence Asafo flag likely dating from the 20's or 30's.  Flags of this age and kind are increasingly rare to find.  Many ones of a similar age have been fetching upwards of 10k at auction as less and less come to market and more and more end up in Museum collections.

History:

 Asafo flags derive from the militia groups of the Akan people of Ghana; many of whom lived along the coast and traded with Europeans for cloth.  Lacking organised military at the time the Fante peoples organised into Asafo ( Sa meaning War and Fo meaning people) units that protected local interests.  The Fante culture continues to this day with regular festivals.