red cotton flag with horizontal image orientation; three poles with telephone lines connecting each pole, in C, ending at two houses on R and L sides of image; two figures, each walking out of houses; Union Jack symbol in ULC; gold and white checkered edges on T, R and B; white cotton edging on L; mounted on white muslin

Flag, 1920s-1930s

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To honor your own company and ridicule the rival ones, that is what the embroidered and appliquéd flags of Asafo companies are all about. This tradition of the Fante peoples in southern Ghana has existed for several centuries, though the companies themselves changed from being militias to neighborhood associations. Fante culture has always incorporated innovations introduced by Europeans in their art. Here, telegraphy acts as a symbol of communication across great distance. The flag conveys mastery over knowledge and technology, asserting to competing companies that “We can talk to everybody.”

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Details
Title
Flag
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2021.72
Curator Approved

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red cotton flag with horizontal image orientation; three poles with telephone lines connecting each pole, in C, ending at two houses on R and L sides of image; two figures, each walking out of houses; Union Jack symbol in ULC; gold and white checkered edges on T, R and B; white cotton edging on L; mounted on white muslin