U.S. Army, Trapunto, "In Memory of My Cruise in Philippine Islands", 1900.
A trapunto is an ornately embroidered commemorative fabric. Making a trapunto involves the addition of padding behind a piece of silk, upon which elaborate designs are embroidered to create a three-dimensional image. It was not uncommon for trapuntos of the time to contain many patriotic symbols.

Many trapuntos made and sold by the George Washington Co. in Yokohama, Japan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their market included American soldiers and sailors stationed in the Far East during the Spanish American War, the Philippine-American War, the Boxer Rebellion and the Great White Fleet.

The young soldier who commissioned this trapunto chose to include an image of himself nestled among the panoply of flags representing nations with imperial and economic interests in Asia. On the left are the flags of Great Britain (merchant flag), Holland, Spain, Sweden, and Imperial China. On the right are the flags of the United States, Italy, Greece, Norway, and Japan. Surrounding the central panoply the names of the countries the soldier visited (Philippines, China, and Japan) are embroidered.

Compare with other Trapuntos in the Zaricor Flag Collection: ZFC0150, ZFC0284, ZFC0289
ZFC0742, ZFC1441, ZFC1489, ZFC2219 and ZFC2258

Exhibition History:

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - GALLERY VI
Trapunto with Portrait

War & Dissent
The US in the Philippines 1898 1915
October 22 2008 to February 22, 2009
At the Presidio of San Francisco, Officers Club Exhibition Hall

Publication History:
Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 111.

Provenance: Acquired by purchase by the Veninga Flag Collection in 1998.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Sources: