Trafalgar !

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

October 21 is not a national holiday in the UK, but it does not take much. The British revere the memory of the Battle of Trafalgar and the extraordinary personality of the conqueror, Vice-Admiral Nelson, who was killed. That happened in 1805. Indeed this battle was quite significant, since it sounded the death knell of French naval ambitions.

The auction house Charles Miller organizes twice a year in London an auction of maritime art, and the sale of October 21 highlights memorabilia of Nelson and Trafalgar.

This year's moving lot is a flag that belonged to Captain Clephan. Rare example of a ranker who became an officer, he was a lieutenant aboard the Spartiate, one of the ships that followed the Victory ship of Nelson. As a reward for his courage, he received this Union flag, 224 x 356 cm. It is believed that the sailors of the Spartiate stitched it just after the battle for presentation to their hero.

Not having served during the battle, the flag is in a finely preserved condition. It had belonged so far to the family of Clephan. It is estimated £ 10K.

Here is the link to the image of that lot thanks to the sharing offered by AuctionPublicity.com.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The Australian website news.com.au communicated the result : 384 K£. The Australians were interested by the fact that the seller was one of their countrymen.

This excellent result demonstrates the uniqueness of this object, and the fact that its ceremonial role left it in very good condition.

The site of the auction house has not yet published the results. I will come back to check if the premium is or not included in the figure.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The reported price of 384 K£ includes the buyer's premium.