December 2013 Auction Ends Tuesday, December 17th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/17/2013
Extraordinarily rare piece of the HMS Victory flag from the Battle of Trafalgar. The HMS Victory, as Horatio Nelson's flagship, saw Nelson fatally wounded by a gunshot to the back at the Battle of Trafalgar, the infamous conflict during the War of the Third Coalition between the Royal Navy and combined navies of France and Spain. At Nelson's funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral following the battle, the colors of the flag were featured in the procession, carried by a selection of Nelson's devoted sailors. Before they could reverently place the flag in the grave as planned, however, in a well-documented and dramatic display of grief, they tore the flag apart, each of the mourning sailors retaining a segment. Lot comprises two fragments of the flag - one in red and one in navy blue. Both pieces, as part of the same flag, are made of crude worsted wool bunting, identifiable as such by threads of obviously uneven thickness, particularly evident in the red piece. The nature of the flag's fabric is well-documented as crude bunting of the kind supplied to the Royal Navy. Fabric is taken from the large flag fragment sold at Sotheby's London, lot 102 in 5 October 2005, with further provenance from University Archives and the Wallis & Wallis Auction Galleries, lot 1077, held 10 January 1995 in Lewes, Sussex, England. Red piece measures approximately 1" on its longest diagonal. Blue piece is cut in a roughly triangular shape, measuring just under 1" on its longest side. Both swatches are stored in the back of a locket behind a transparent panel. The front of the oval-shaped locket displays a portrait of Nelson in uniform. Locket measures 1" x 1.25", excluding the loop at the top for suspending from a chain. Top edge of locket is stamped, "Rolled Gold". Some nicks and scratches to jewelry, else near fine. Fragments of fabric from the HMS Victory's flag sold at Bonham's in London on 28 September 2004 for $76,775.
Piece of the HMS Victory Flag From the Battle of Trafalgar Where Horatio Nelson Received His Mortal Wound -- With Provenance From the Duke & Duchess of Windsor Sotheby's Auction
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