proverbs of volatility: asafo flags of the fante people

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Asafo Flags of the Fante People

Proverbs of Volatility

Cavin-Morris GalleryNew York City

Cover image: AF 370 detail (see page 12)

Proverbs of Volatility

Asafo Flags of the Fante People

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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


39 x 52.5 inches99.1 x 133.4 cm

Af 384

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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt

32 x 57 inches81.3 x 144.8 cm

AF 355

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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt44.5 x 61 inches113 x 154.9 cmAF 359


37.5 x 41 inches95.3 x 104.1 cm

AF 363

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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


46 x 53 inches116.8 x 134.6 cm

AF 368

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37 x 58 inches94 x 147.3 cm

AF 370

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Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt37.5 x 53 inches95.3 x 134.6 cmAf 387


47 x 50.5 inches119.4 x 128.3 cm

Af 388

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27.5 x 63 inches69.9 x 160 cm

AF 372


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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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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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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29 x 42 inches73.7 x 106.7 cm

AF 377


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29 x 51.25 inches73.7 x 130.2 cm

AF 376

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34 x 58 inches86.4 x 147.3 cm

AF 360

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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt27 x 37 inches68.6 x 94 cmAf 379


46 x 61 inches116.8 x 154.9 cm

Af 380

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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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36.5 x 55 inches92.7 x 139.7 cm

AF 356


Pre-1957Cotton fabric with felt35 x 65.5 inches88.9 x 166.4 cmAF 374

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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 felt36.5 x 63 inches92.7 x 160 cmAF 358

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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


40.55 x 68.11 inches103 x 173 cm

Af 392

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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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Post-1957Cotton fabric with felt37 x 56 inches94 x 142.2 cmAf 396

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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

Back cover image: AF 360 detail (see page 20)

proverbs of volatility: asafo flags of the fante people

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