One of the first general purpose national flags of Iran from the 19th Century.
This Iranian (Persian) flag was formerly part of the collection of the M.H. de Young Museum. Founded in 1895 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the de Young Museum was San Francisco's first museum. It was a great success from its opening and has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city and a cherished destination for millions of residents and visitors to the region for over 100 years.

Michael Henry de Young, 1849 -1925, was an American journalist and businessman who owned and published the San Francisco Chronicle. He used his wealth to further his eclectic tastes and accumulated a collection of immense variety, and such diverse objects such as sculptures, paintings, flags, polished tree slabs, paintings, objet d'art, jewellery, a door reputedly from Newgate Prison, birds' eggs, handcuffs and thumbscrews, and a collection of knives and forks.

As San Francisco's premier repository the de Young Museum came to house a number of flags, but the exact history of this Persian flag is unknown. It was donated to the de Young Museum by Thomas H. Kullujian on October 27, 1914. Mr. Kullujian also donated an Ottoman Flag at the same time, which constitutes item ZFC0209 of the Zaricor Flag Collection.

The Aryan or Indo-European people living in what the Greeks called Persia referred to their country as Iran. Theirs is an ancient civilization, which more than three-and-a-half millennia ago was using the lion and the sun as symbols. However, it appears that they were not combined to form the Iranian national emblem until at least the 13th century. For the next 700 years, the rulers of Iran used the lion and sun on their flags, but these have not been employed as a national symbol since the Islamic revolution of 1979. The lion is a traditional symbol of strength and dignity, while the sun is an auspicious astrological figure. The saber held by the lion is said by some to be the famous "sword of Ali"; who was the son-in-law of Muhammad and legitimate heir of the Islamic legacy to Shiite populations in Iran and around the world.

In the late 19th century, the first general purpose, national flag of Iran was developed. It featured the lion and sun on a white background, but added borders of red for the civil authorities and green for religious leaders. This version of the flag, in use from 1889 until 1905, corresponds to the one in the Zaricor Collection. This flag looks as if it might have been made outside Iran. Flags made in the country would more likely have been sewn together using separate pieces of green, white, and red material. Additionally, the official flag design had a green border inside a red border on the three outer edges of the flag only, rather than the "picture frame" border of this flag.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Provenance:
• Acquired by Thomas H. Kullujian, San Francisco, CA.
• Gifted to de Young Museum, 1914.
• Sold via Butterfield & Butterfield Auctions, SF, CA, to the Zaricor Flag Collection, 1997


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