A striking Asafo company flag banner featuring a bold appliqué Union Jack above a long tapering textile panel. Constructed from hand-sewn cotton, the composition reflects the distinctive visual language of the Asafo military companies of coastal Ghana, where flags functioned as powerful symbols of identity, rivalry, and communal pride.
The Union Jack references the long period of British presence along the Gold Coast, a symbol frequently adapted and reinterpreted within Asafo flags to signal authority, alliance, or political commentary. Below, the elongated banner panel is punctuated by a red heart appliqué, a motif often used within Asafo imagery to convey loyalty, courage, or devotion.
Mounted on a wooden carrying staff and finished with fringe along the edges, the banner would have been carried in procession during festivals, funerals, and public celebrations. The worn surface and weathered patina reflect its history of active use, lending the piece both visual character and cultural resonance.
Size: 1' x 4'3" [31cm x 130cm]
Age: 1st half of the 20th Century
Origin: Ghana
Type of Textile: Asafo Flag
Material: Cotton
Condition: Fair, torn missing fabric
TX678
