Ship Flag 1865

Editor: Here we have an object identified as “Ship Flag” made around 1865 by an anonymous artist, and residing at the Rijksmuseum. It's mixed-media, textile and print, with a muted color palette, and its aged quality gives it a tangible, almost somber presence. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The fragility of the flag is deeply evocative. The discoloration, tears, and visible repairs point to a life lived in service, exposed to the elements, witnessing historical events. It makes me think of its cultural function as an emblem of power, of maritime identity and then I want to know: what was the context of this particular flag? “Shimonoseki 4-5 en 6 Sept" can be seen stamped on the center of the flag, so can you hypothesize why this might have been? Editor: Perhaps related to the Bombardment of Shimonoseki in 1864? The dates on the flag might correlate with key moments during that conflict? Curator: Precisely. Flags are deeply entrenched in conflicts. This tattered ensign serves as a relic of colonial contest, signifying specific dates, and probably also, marking territories gained and lost, narratives written by the victors. We are, after all, seeing it displayed within a Western museum, viewed from our contemporary socio-political perspective, and this context changes the very narrative of this simple piece of dyed and printed fabric. Editor: It's fascinating to think about how the simple display changes the meaning, shifting the narrative away from it's original one. Curator: It truly does. Flags possess the innate quality to stir a lot of strong reactions, don’t they? And viewing it today through our own lens makes one wonder, who gets to inscribe whose stories? Editor: Absolutely, that’s given me so much to consider about the politics embedded within historical artifacts and even within the institution displaying them.