There’s plenty to learn about African folklore and wildlife at the National Museum of African Art’s Artful Animals exhibit–hippos represent wealth, a chameleon’s curled tail represents the passage of time–but two items in particular were a revelation to me: Fante Asafo flags from Ghana.
The museum’s two roughly designed cotton flags include animal motifs and a Union Jack in the upper left corner. My inner history major was piqued: What were these relics of Empire?
Turns out the flags represent military companies in coastal Ghana and depict historical events or proverbs, often through the display of animals. Flags made before Ghana’s independence in 1957 show the Union Jack, those made after 1957 incorporate the Ghanaian flag.
I later found this fascinating collection of Fante Asafo flags posted by an art gallery in Boston. Not only are the scenes on the flags wildly divergent, the British flag is interpreted in every way imaginable.
I’m usually into Asian art, not African, but these are so cool they make me want to start collecting.
[...] of Art: Works of Art by Haitian Children After the Earthquake, National Museum of African Art 4. Artful Animals, National Museum of African Art 5. Voices from Afghanistan, Library of [...]