£2,600
African & Oceanic Art and Antiquities | 527
Auction: 21 March 2018 at 11:00 GMT
cotton applique flag, a waterbird is shown striding right carrying a fish in its mouth on a blue background, red and white checked border, Union Jack in the top right
Please note; Framed by John Jones to museum quality, the flag is mounted on a cotton backing and presented in a wooden frame.
Beginning in the 17th century, the Fante groups which inhabited the south-west coast of modern-day Ghana formed military and political units known as 'asafo' (deriving from sa, meaning war, and fo, meaning people). Each unit developed elaborate traditions of visual art, most striking of all the flags shown here. These comprised of bold naïve imagery appliqued onto a cotton background, they commonly depict indigenous proverbs which relate closely to the commissioning Asafo group. With the British conquest of the region in 1856 many Asafo groups incorporated versions of the Union Jack into the flag to enhance the power of the imagery.
The present example is referring to the proverb "The big water bird swallows a fish from a different angle", the Asafo company is boasting that they can achieve things that others find difficult or even impossible.