Rare flag of the Romanian revolutionaries in Transylvania sold for EUR 105,000 at Bucharest auction

A rare battle flag belonging to one of Romanian revolutionary leader Avram Iancu’s legions was sold at a recent auction in Bucharest for EUR 105,000. Avram Iancu was the most important revolutionary leader of the Romanians in Transylvania during the 1848 Revolution. He fought against serfdom and against the Hungarian ruling in Transylvania. Avram Iancu, who lived between 1824 and 1872 is considered a hero by Romanians in Transylvania and a symbol of the nationalist movement. According to local Mediafax, local businessman Adrian Thiess bought the rare flag for a final price of EUR 105,000. The flag had a starting price of EUR 5,000, but the auction was a very intense one, as local businessman Gigi Becali's representatives also placed bids for this item. Adrian Thiess told Mediafax that he didn’t intend to keep the flag for himself. “Obviously, we will make the flag available to several museums that will exhibit it around the country so people can see it. […] I haven’t bought it for myself, it is a matter that will most likely involve more than 20 people,” the businessman said, without revealing the identity of the other people involved in this purchase. Adrian Thiess announced this January that he would run for mayor of Bucharest in the local elections this year. The Artmark auction organized on February 3 sold a part of late Romanian politician Corneliu Vadim Tudor's antiquities collection, the most important item being Avram Iancu's flag. Nearly 500 items were on sale at the auction, including a bust of Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu (sold for EUR 300) and a bust of Ludwig van Beethoven (sold for EUR 200). Corneliu Vadim Tudor, who was the founder of the nationalist Romania Mare (Great Romania) Party and one of the most influential political figures in the years after the Romanian Revolution, died on September 14, 2015, at age 65. He was known for his passion for history and culture. Napoleon’s autographs, rare manuscripts on sale at Bucharest auction Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Artmark.ro)