Karin TetterisPhD student

In the Swedish Armémuseum in Stockholm more than 3000 foreign military colours and standards are kept. They were all taken as war trophies in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. While this is one of the largest collections in the world it is not unique. In most European countries, museums display or store the flags of foreign armies as symbols of ancient victories. 

The obscured provenance of looted objects in museums is a problem currently addressed by many scholars within the field of heritage studies. Museums have been discussed as vehicles for legitimisation of looted art. The Armémuseum, however, makes no secret of the fact that the objects in the exhibition are trophies of war. Actually, this is presented to be their main identity.

In my research, I problematise the premises of taking and preserving flags as war trophies, earlier taken for granted, and investigate the doings in this process. Its purpose is to open up a new line of inquiry focusing more on the questions: How did these flags come to be considered of such importance that they were taken from the enemy in battle, and how were they made into trophies and museum objects? Which role did the spatial, visual, and material properties of flags have in the production of meaning?

The objects used for investigating my research questions is a group of Danish military flags taken as trophies in 1657 when the Swedish army stormed the fortress Frederiksodde (now Fredericia) in Jutland. These flags have, in different ways, been displayed continuously since they arrived in Stockholm in 1658 up until the mid-20^th century when most of them were put into museum storage. By constructing a biography of the flags captured at Frederiksodde in 1657, I identify certain practices which, in different ways, have created and enacted symbolical meanings of military honour, national pride, and heritage. It is those practices that are my main object of research.