Flag pole for ZFC0225, an original Italian Tower Contrada (district) Palio flag.
This Contrada Palio flag was formerly part of the collection of the M.H. de Young Museum.

Built in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the de Young Museum was founded in 1895, making San Francisco's first museum. It was a popular venue from its founding, central to Bay Area arts and culture and visited by millions of visitors for over 100 years.

This expandable brass pole came with the flag, but it is not known if the pole is original to the flag, or hardware furnished by the de Young Museum for displaying its flag. It is unique and different from all of the other Palio poles and staffs.

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, such as sculptures, paintings, arms and armor, porcelain, native American and South Pacific artifacts, polished tree slabs, paintings, objet d'art, jewelry, a door allegedly from Newgate Prison, birds' eggs, handcuffs and thumbscrews, and a collection of knives and forks. In addition, as San Francisco's premier repository the de Young Museum came to house a number of flags. De Young displayed many of these in a museum Flag Room, to which this staff possibly originates.

The flag is dated to circa 1888 and is in good condition, with a minor tear on the bottom edge. It is made of silk and is hand-stitched.

Provenance: Acquired at auction for Butterfields and Butterfields auction of the de Young museum collection deaccession in 1997.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Might be labeled ZFC1498 at Atthowe, error noted 24 May 2024 - JF

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