Frame of a large lantern made out of palm pith

This lantern was entitled ‘Operation Desert Storm’ which was the name of the US-led military operation to expel occupying Iraqi forces from Kuwait in January 1991. The lantern was never completed owing to the outbreak of Sierra Leone’s civil war in March 1991 which resulted in the cancellation of the lantern parade that year. The lantern was being made for New Site Amalgamators Lantern Club and its frame was constructed entirely of lengths of palm pith (from the midribs of raffia palm branches) rendering it extremely fragile. At the far end of the lantern President George H W Bush stands at a podium with two microphones in front of him. At the near end sits Saddam Hussein. Various structures, including a tank, ship and aeroplanes are also part of the lantern. The builder has fixed lengths of string to the poles at each corner of the lantern so that small aircraft can be pulled along above the lantern to imitate an attack.