National Flag of Imperial China.
This striking small silk dragon flag was the national flag of Imperial China. This version of the National flag was created in 1863 based on the dragons used on the imperial robes worn by the emperors of China. The Chinese Emperor was the living symbol of sovereignty in the Chinese Empire and this precluded the need for a traditional national flag, even though flags had been used in China for millennia.
It would not be until trade with the West increased that that a traditional European style national flag was adopted, and the dragon robe worn by the Chinese emperor became the basis for the national flag bearing the five toed celestial dragon. In China only the Emperor's dragon could have five toes.
This rectangular silk table top flag was not made in China, and dates from 1906 to 1910. The flag was made in New York City by Annin and Co., the nation's oldest and largest flag maker. Annin made flags "for the trade". The precise dating is possible because this flag was originally acquired from the B. Pasquale Company of San Francisco, CA, and B. Pasquale was an Annin dealer.
The Chinese Empire was overthrown when the Republic of China was declared in 1910, the dragon flag became obsolete. This this flag can be dated to between the 1906 SF Fire and the overthrow of the empire. This flag was carried in obsolete inventory by the Pasquale Company until they dissolved in the 1980s.
Provenance: Acquired in 2006 at the North American Vexillological Association annual meeting in Reno, Nevada.
ZFC Noteworthy Flag
Sources:
Imperial Dragon Flag (China), Flags of the World, 23 May 2012, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/cn-dragn.html
B. Pasquale & Co., The first "outfitter" on the west coast, U.S. MILITARIA FORUM, 23 May, 2012, from: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25314
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
