An Early 20thC Tricolore French Flag

SOLD
Origin: French
Period: Early 20thC
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1910-20
Height: 46”
Width: 47.5”
Length on pole: 96.5”

Hand stitched in a light linen, the French Tricolour flag with a lovely time worn appearance, nailed to its original pine pole with a spearhead Repousse toleware Republique Francais Finial, the whole surviving from the first quarter of the twentieth century.

The flag has a good natural fade with some tattiness to the edging and some loss to the red section and expected staining. The pole is complete with its spearhead which is slightly misshapen.

The French Revolution was essentially responsible for bringing the current national flag into existence. In the July of 1789, during those turbulent years, a rosette gave rise to the idea of the present French tricolor. The tricolor was influenced largely by the Paris coat of arms, which used red and blue as the dominant colors in the French rosettes. The pristine white denoting the French royalty was thought most suitable as a divider between the colors of the rosette.

A beautifully timeworn example of good size.
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