  About the Artwork
  
  
  Asafo flags such as this were owned collectively by Fante military organizations of Ghana. They were commissioned by each captain for the day of his investiture and were also displayed and danced on special occasions, such as the royal yam festival and at funerals. The applique and embroidered designs on both sides of the flag show figures casting a net in which a large fish is caught. The message is: Europeans erected a strong stone fort (Anomabu Fort), but Africans can use many men to "catch" the fort.
  
  
  Title
  Asafo Flag
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1863
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  African
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
  Fante
  
  
  Medium
  Appliqued and embroidered cloth
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 40 × 72 inches (101.6 × 182.9 cm)
  Overall (with fringe): 45 × 73 1/2 inches (114.3 × 186.7 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Textiles
  
  
  Department
  African Art
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, Acquisitions Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  1983.17
  
  
  Copyright
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