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Georgia: National flag, 1990-2004

Last modified: 2005-02-19 by ivan sache
Keywords: georgia | law | construction sheet |
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[Flag of Georgia, 1990-2004]by Željko Heimer

Flag used between 1918 and 1921 (with different proportion) and readopted 14 November 1990, coat of arms adopted 11 December 1990. Flag suppressed 14 January 2004
Proportion: 3:5
Description: Dark red flag with a canton horizontally divided black-white.
Use: on land, civil and State flag, at sea, civil and State ensign.

Colour approximate specifications (as given in Album des Pavillons [pay00]):

  • Red: Pantone 209 c / CMYK (%) C 0 - M85 - Y 35 - K 50

See also:

Law on the flag and construction sheet

[Construction sheet]by Željko Heimer

My source is Jiri Tenora, who wrote (in French):

Geometry of the flag is: An invisible cross divides the field in four quarters which are accordingly smaller than normal quarters.

[Construction sheet explained]by Željko Heimer

Tenora attached a drawing similar to my drawing in Album des Pavillons.

Armand du Payrat, 9 October 2001

[Variant of the flag]by Željko Heimer

The web page of the Parliament of Georgia includes all Georgian laws, among which the Law of Georgia on national flag and anthem (14 November 1990).

[Variant construction sheet]by Željko Heimer

However, the construction sheet clearly shows that the flag ratio is 3:5 and that the canton reaches 2/5 of both length and width of the flag (i.e. vertically canton:field = 2:3, horizontally black:white:red = 1:1:3).

Jan Zrzavy, 3 August 2000

The red shade of the flag

  • Encyclopaedia Universalis Yearbook [eun] says rouge cornaline, that is "cornelian red". Cornelian is a red agate used in jewelry and lapidary arts.
  • Dorling-Kindersley Flag Book [udk97] says "deep red", and a few lines after, "crimson". It mentions a "semantic drift" in the interpretation of this national colour, symbolizing in 1918 Georgia's bright past and nowadays also joy.
  • Talocci (French edition [tal93]), as reliable as usual, shows a flag with a bright red field, and says "red", adding that the new design is probably inspired by the flag of "the former national monarchy". Some of these putative flags are shown here, and I would agree that the colours of the present flag are those of the former feudal states, but certainly not its design, which was created in 1918. A St. George's cross would be expected if Talocci's interpretation were to be correct.
  • Znamierowski [zna99] states "dogwood red".
  • Devereux [dev98] has "cherry red".
  • In the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant of 31 December 1991 it is kersenrood or "cherry red" as well, a different cherry color of course!

Ivan Sache & Jarig Bakker, 23 July 2000