# - [Nelson, Horatio, Lord.]

a single piece of hand-woven bunting in three sections stitched together, coloured red, white, and blue, approximately 330 x 30 mm., framed and glazed with a label ("A bit of Nelson's Flag at Trafalgar 21st October 1805 given by Admiral George Mends - whose wife was a Miss Nesbitt")

by indirect descent from the family of lord nelson. This relic has passed by family descent from Admiral Sir William Robert Kennedy (1838–1916), and is believed to have been given to him by Vice Admiral George Clarke Mends (d.1885). In 1849 Mends had married Georgina Nisbet (born 1830), youngest daughter of Nelson's stepson Josiah Nisbet. Both the Mends and the Kennedy familiy were prominent in the Royal Navy, and several of Admiral Mends's relatives served alongside William Kennedy in the 1850s (in the Crimea, the China Sea, and elsewhere).

R. Prentice, The Authentic Nelson (National Maritime Museum, 2005), p.176; Nelson and Napoleon, ed. M. Lincoln (National Maritime Museum, 2005), no.296

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate. If you require additional information we would recommend viewing the item during the exhibition or contacting one of the specialists for this sale.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The flags that had flown from the Victory at Trafalgar formed a prominent part of Nelson's funeral procession. The seamen accompanying the procession bore two Union flags and one St George ensign, each "perforated in various places by ... the shot of the enemy". At the conclusion of the service:

"the Comptroller, Treasurer and Steward of his Lordship's household then broke their staves, and gave the pieces to Garter, who threw them into the grave, in which all the flags of the Victory, furled up by the sailors were deposited - These brave fellows, however, desirous of retaining some memorials of their great and favourite commander, had torn off a considerable part of the largest flag, of which most of them obtained a portion." (The Naval Chronicle, 1806)

The weave of this fragment is very similar to surviving pieces held by the National Maritime Museum (see in particular NMM AAA0924, AAA0927, and AAA03112).