Fante Frankaa or Asafo Military Flag: Orange & Pink Dingo; White Tree with Fishes

Striped bands of fish and flowers, with a pink beast padding past a bare tree

This frankaa OR ASAFO military FLAG is Fante, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is cotton. Along the southern coast of Ghana the Fante never formed a centralized kingdom, so each state was ruled by a paramount chief and protected by its own Asafo company. A banner of horizontal ochre and cream bands patterned with red flowers and small fish. A pink animal and a smaller orange one walk beside a pale leafless tree. Patchwork blocks line the edge, with ties at the corner. It is 63 inches wide and 38 long.

The fabric is already busy, and then the animals arrive.