Ship Flag

...; presented by King Willem III der Nederlanden (1817-1890) to Zr.Ms. Medusa, 1865;¹¹According to an inscription on model NG-MC-1889-17. Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague; transferred to the museum, 1889

ObjectNumber: NG-MC-1889-85-2

Dutch tricolour with inscription in gothic lettering of embroidered silver-thread, in a bad condition.

This flag was presented by King William III to the 10-gun screw sloop Medusa (Amsterdam 1852-54, 51.5 metres long, decommissioned 1866)²²A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 85. in appreciation of its role in freeing the passage of the Strait of Shimonoseki in Japan in 1864. Taking part in an international expedition, Medusa helped to break the opposition of the Prince of Nagato, Lord of Choshu.

A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 85; M. van den Brandhof, Vlaggen, vaandels en standaarden van het Rijksmuseum. Een geïllustreerde catalogus, Amsterdam 1977, no. 166; 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: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.245361