Flag for Asafo Company No. 2 (frankaa)

Artist Fante artists

Dateearly 20th century (before 1957)

MediumLinen, cotton, and embroidery

Dimensionsoverall: 42 1/2 x 62 3/4 in. (108 x 159.4 cm)
frame: 50 x 71 x 4 in. (127 x 180.3 x 10.2 cm)

ClassificationsTextiles

Credit LineGift of the NCMA Docents

Object number2000.6.8

On View

Not on view

Label TextAsafo military companies play a vital role in balancing the power of paramount chiefs and form the core of local communities. Colorful flags and striking graphics identify the various companies at parades, festivals, and holiday celebrations. Their imagery contains biting satire in iconographies, which, accompanied by taunting proverbs and dance, invoke inter-company rivalry.

Flags with the British Union Jack are dated prior to 1957; later flags often display Ghana’s national colors (red, yellow, and green). Here, the a two red shapes (lower left) represent gongs signaling the beginning of Asafo events. The combination of the rooster, clock, and bird references a metaphor that implies the Asafo company controls time itself.

ProvenanceDzugale Magala Enterprise, Accra, Ghana; purchased by NCMA docents 2000; given to NCMA 2000.Published ReferencesKinsey Katchka, entry for Flag for Asafo Company No. 2 in Gomua Oguaa, Ghana (Frankaa), in North Carolina Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections, rev. ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2010), 132, illus. (color) 133.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–October 8, 2023. Object Rights Statement

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