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Proverbs of Volatility: Asafo Flags of the Fante People
The Asafo flags from the Akan people of Ghana (primarily Fante) provide a rich and valuable insight into a vernacular sys-tem. The flags use imagery from proverbs, myths, aphorisms, and sometimes dark humor to represent social control in a community.
Each Akan town has between one and seven military companies that use the flags to communicate not only to constituencies, but also to display messages of their own integrity to rival other military companies.
The flags are danced, marched and displayed draping the company shrine. They are raised on flagpoles on ceremonious occasions. Because the dances are intricate, training for the elaborate movements is seen as a privilege for those who began learning them at an early age.
The flags mostly have either the Union Jack or the Ghanaian national tri-color in one corner. The change from the Union Jack happened at Ghana’s independence in 1957.
There are reports that flags were used as early as the 17th Century, used in battle to identify friendly troops. Sadly, those early reports neglected to physically describe the imagery on the flags. According to Doran Ross, the first time a flag was actually described was in 1693 when an English trader named Philips noted: “The flag he was flying was white with a black man painted in the middle brandishing scimitar.”
Documentation from the mid-19th Century reports the use of the flags to goad and tease other military companies through imagery, suggesting superiority for their own strength and prowess, while ridiculing their competition. These actions initiated many a brawl and sometimes bloodshed.
Ross says there are three main categories of imagery: “historical, emblematic, and proverbial”. The history category refers to past encounters with rival companies. These flags are less common because over time they have been removed by elders for their provocative natures. More common are flags depicting emblems of, or representing directly, persons of prestige in the company. They use strong images to denote power. The third category, proverbs, represents the majority of the flags. These proverbs are called epe, and are taken very seriously by the Akan. There are thousands of proverbs,
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but only a few hundred of the proverb images are used in the flags. By reducing the quantity of images used and repeating them, granting artistic license to the maker, a common iconography known to the populace and especially to other compa-nies allows for easier recognition of the meanings. They draw from a common cultural wisdom.
We are pleased to be able to present this rare collection of flags from the collection of Jean-Jacques Mandel. Most are pre-1957 and include some rare and fascinating subjects. Even if we don’t know all the proverbial sources, the joy of see-ing these flags is that the images themselves are provocative and universal.
- July, 2016
Much in formation for this introduction came from: Ross, Doran H. “Fighting with Art, Appliqued Flags of the Fante Asafo, UCLA Museum of Cultural History, Spring, 1979
Cole, Herbert M., and Ross, Doran The Arts of Ghana, UCLA Museum of Cultural History, 1977
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
32.68 x 62.99 inches83 x 160 cm
Af 381
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt28.54 x 36.61 inches72.5 x 93 cmAf 382
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt40 x 57 inches101.6 x 144.8 cmAf 383
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
39 x 52.5 inches99.1 x 133.4 cm
Af 384
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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt44.5 x 61 inches113 x 154.9 cmAF 359
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
37.5 x 41 inches95.3 x 104.1 cm
AF 363
10
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
36 x 66 inches91.4 x 167.6 cm
AF 369
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt37 x 54 inches94 x 137.2 cmAF 371
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt45.25 x 61.5 inches114.9 x 156.2 cmAF 367
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
46 x 53 inches116.8 x 134.6 cm
AF 368
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt37.5 x 53 inches95.3 x 134.6 cmAf 387
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
47 x 50.5 inches119.4 x 128.3 cm
Af 388
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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt
27.5 x 63 inches69.9 x 160 cm
AF 372
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
38 x 49.5 inches96.5 x 125.7 cm
AF 365
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt33 x 51 inches83.8 x 129.5 cmAF 366
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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt
27.5 x 63 inches69.9 x 160 cm
AF 372
Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt32.5 x 57.5 inches82.6 x 146.1 cmAf 395
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
33 x 51 inches83.8 x 129.5 cm
AF 361
Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt30 x 52 inches76.2 x 132.1 cmAF 364
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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt
29 x 42 inches73.7 x 106.7 cm
AF 377
Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt30 x 56 inches76.2 x 142.2 cmAF 378
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt40 x 60 inches101.6 x 152.4 cmAF 375
Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt
29 x 51.25 inches73.7 x 130.2 cm
AF 376
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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt27 x 37 inches68.6 x 94 cmAf 379
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
46 x 61 inches116.8 x 154.9 cm
Af 380
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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt
33 x 53 inches83.8 x 134.6 cm
AF 373
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt35 x 65.5 inches88.9 x 166.4 cmAF 374
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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt
36.5 x 55 inches92.7 x 139.7 cm
AF 356
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt31 x 56 inches78.7 x 142.2 cmAF 357
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt35 x 65.5 inches88.9 x 166.4 cmAF 374
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
40 x 52.5 inches101.6 x 133.4 cm
Af 385
Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt38.78 x 48.43 inches98.5 x 123 cmAf 386
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
40.5 x 54 inches102.9 x 137.2 cm
Af 389
Pre-1914Cotton fabric with felt41.34 x 60.63 inches105 x 154 cmAf 390
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt40 x 56 inches101.6 x 142.2 cmAf 391
Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt
40.55 x 68.11 inches103 x 173 cm
Af 392
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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt
44 x 63 inches111.8 x 160 cm
Af 393
Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt32.5 x 54 inches82.6 x 137.2 cmAf 394
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n.d.Cotton fabric with felt
28 x 12.5 inches71.1 x 31.8 cm
Af 397
n.d.Cotton fabric with felt8 x 88 inches20.3 x 223.5 cmAf 398
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Copyright © 2016 CAVIN-MORRIS GALLERYCavin-Morris Gallery
210 Eleventh Ave, Ste. 201New York, NY 10001
t. 212 226 3768www.cavinmorris.com
Catalogue design: Marissa Levien, Caroline Casey, & Sophie Friedman-PappasPhotography: Jurate Veceraite
Introduction contributed by Randall Morris