…; presented by King Willem III der Nederlanden (1817-1890) to Zr.Ms. Metalen Kruis, 1865;¹¹HNA 2.12.01 Min. Marine, 20/2/1865 N44. transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1889

Object number: NG-MC-1889-85-1

Dutch tricolour with a painted representation of the ‘Metalen Kruis’, a Dutch military decoration from the Belgian War (1830-32), in the canton.

This flag was presented by King William III to the 18-gun screw-steamer Metalen Kruis (originally Soerabaja, Amsterdam 1860-62, 58 metres long, 1877 Samalanga expedition, decommissioned in 1878 in Surabaya)²²A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 57. in appreciation of her role in freeing the passage of the Strait of Shimonoseki in Japan in 1864. Taking part in an international expedition the Metalen Kruis helped break the opposition of the Prince of Nagato, Lord of Choshu.

The flag was raised for the first time in Batavia with a royal salute (101 guns). The ship was also presented with a document in a silver case (NG-MC-1889-17).

F. de Casembroot, De Medusa in de wateren van Japan in 1863 en 1864, The Hague 1865; A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 57; M. van den Brandhof, Vlaggen, vaandels en standaarden van het Rijksmuseum. Een geïllustreerde catalogus, Amsterdam 1977, no. 165; A.A. Lemmers and G. Boven, Nederland en Japan. Bijzondere betrekkingen 1600-1868, Den Helder 2000, pp. 26-28

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Ship Flag, Netherlands, 1865', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20054362