Original Item. Only One Available. This is a very attractive original Panamanian national flag dating approximately to the 1920s, constructed from multiple individual sections of fabric with separately applied stars and a reinforced header fitted with brass grommets. Measuring approximately 24 x 35½ inches, it is an excellent early national flag from the formative decades of the Republic of Panama.

Panama’s modern flag originated during the country’s separation from Colombia in 1903. An earlier proposal by Philippe Bunau-Varilla followed a design strongly influenced by the United States flag, with alternating red and yellow stripes and a blue canton containing two connected golden suns intended to represent North and South America joined by the Isthmus of Panama. The proposal was rejected, and a distinctly Panamanian design was subsequently developed.

The design ultimately adopted is generally credited to Manuel Encarnación Amador, son of Manuel Amador Guerrero. María de la Ossa de Amador, together with other members of the family, helped sew the first examples used during the independence movement. The design used red and blue to represent Panama’s historic Liberal and Conservative political factions, while the white fields symbolized the peace in which the two were expected to coexist.

The stars and quarters are said to stand for the rival political parties, and the white is said to stand for the peace in which they operate. Blue was the color of the Conservatives and red was the color of the Liberals.

This is a great multi-piece example dating to the 1920s. The different colors are their own pieces of fabric with the multi-piece stars stitched on. There is a header with brass grommets that is inscribed PANAMA. The flag measures 24 x 35½” and is in great shape with some small moth nips.

The combination of the early multi-piece construction, separately sewn stars, brass grommets, PANAMA-marked header, and circa-1920 appearance makes this a particularly attractive early example of Panama’s national flag. Although an exact manufacture date has not been confirmed, its construction is consistent with an early 20th-century example and places it within the formative period when Panama’s modern national symbols were being formally established.