An Imperial Chinese junk pennant captured during the First China War 1839-42. It is part of a collection belonging to Sir Robert Oliver (1783-1848), Superintendent of the Indian Navy.

The hand sewn flag is made of damask woven silk with a cloud pattern and a batten inserted in the hoist. It has parallel sides with a swallowtail. The design has a yellow strip down the centre with four groups of three bars (trigrams) applied in silver foil, within a red border.

According to the Da Qing Huidian Tu ('Illustrated Collected Statutes of the Great Qing'), some military flags had pennants attached above the main flag. The design of these pennants consisted of flames and flashes. However, none of the patterns illustrated in the 'Collected Statutes' exactly matches this example.

Sir Robert Oliver became Superintendent of the Indian Navy in 1837, a post he would hold until his death on 5 August 1848. The Indian Navy was the naval arm of the Honourable East India Company. It provided steamers that played a crucial role in naval operations during the First China War as were able to penetrate the interior of the country along its rivers.