Casgliadau Arlein

Flag displayed at the departure dinner held for Captain Scott and his officers in the Royal Hotel in Cardiff on 13 June 1910, two days before the expedition sailed for Antarctica. It was flown on the mainmast of the TERRA NOVA when the ship returned to Cardiff at the end of the expedition on 14 June 1913.

Made from white, green and red tabby woven wool fabric; selvages at top and bottom edge. Left corners are reinforced with triangles of white and green wool fabric. Wooden toggle at upper left corner and bast fibre rope (3-ply, Z-twist) pulled through 4.5cm wide tabby woven linen sleeve along left side edge. Rope protrudes by 85cm from lower left corner; end of rope is looped and knotted; rope is hand-stitched to sleeve at top and bottom. C. 3cm wide turn-back along right edge hand-stitched with coarse overcast stitches using black thread.

The dragon motif is cut out and machine stitched to green and white fabric with 2 rows of machine stitches c. 1cm apart. On the reverse, the stitching threads are white, while on the front, the outer thread is black and the inner is white. Details of dragon motif are painted on with black and white paint.