Flag books and flag identification
Learning about flags from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries
The use of flags was not as codified in the Early Modern period as it is today. In paintings one sees that in addition to recognisable national flags (and variations of them) there were all sorts of flags to denote the origin or function of a ship. ‘Bunting’ was also used to convey messages, the meaning of which has often been lost in the mists of time and gunsmoke.
About the project
In addition to a remarkable collection of flags from the late sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, the Rijksmuseum acquired two manuscript books of flags in 2018 and 2020 that date from 1669/1670 and 1834-1840 (1852). These rare books are a good guide to the flags flown in those periods, especially at sea. They also help identify the ships in the seascapes in the Rijksmuseum’s collection. Not only do they assist in locating a ship’s origin, but can also reveal its role or function and how it communicated with other vessels.
In 2021 the Rijksmuseum will be publishing a weighty and lavishly illustrated facsimile edition of the nineteenth-century flag book with explanatory chapters. It will contain a catalogue of all the flags, standards and pennants depicted, and will crown the museum’s research into the provenance of the manuscript, the use of flags, their role in the age of colonialism and specific maritime aspects.
Aim of the project
Broadly speaking the project has two aims: first to provide detailed descriptions, research (pigments, paper, watermarks) and interpretation of the flags depicted in the two manuscripts, and secondly to compile a flag compendium for the identification of flags in paintings, maritime and otherwise, drawings, prints and so on.
The publication sets out not only to present the highly artistic drawings of flags, but also to be a compendium for the study of nineteenth-century flags, and will reflect growing nationalism and colonialism.
Related publications
- K.Z. Steenbergen, Vlaggen van alle natiën, opgedragen aan zijne Koninklijke Hoogheid Prins Hendrik der Nederlanden, Amsterdam 1862
- J. ter Brugge, The Rijksmuseum Bulletin 70 (2020), no. 3, pp. 280-281
Related events
One day symposium in honour of the release of the ninteenth-century flag book facsimile edition, November 2021.
staff
Jeroen ter Brugge
j.ter.brugge@rijksmuseum.nl
Curator of Maritime Collections
Jolanda van Iperen
J.van.Iperen@rijksmuseum.nl
Researcher/Pigment Analist
Dominika Wojciechowska
Former Researcher/Paper Conservator
Partners and sponsors
Acquisitions supported by the Johan Huizinga Fonds/ Rijksmuseum Fonds and The Flag Heritage Foundation, Danvers (Massachusetts), United States of America. The project is supported by the Van Liemt-Gratama Fonds/ Rijksmuseum Fonds; in collaboration with the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Vlaggenkunde, the Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie and The Flag Heritage Foundation.