A Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 23. (Veszprém, 2004)

Rainer Pál: Gróf Pejachevich Antal tábornok főispáni beiktatására készült zászló (1798)

BAJÁK 1991. 16. Pozsega vármegye 1745/1748-óta használt címeréről: CSAKY 1995. 152. Nr.67.; HOPPAL 2001. 100-101. THE FLAG MADE FOR THE INAUGURATION OF GENERAL COUNT ANTAL PEJACHEVICH AS LORD-LIEUTENANT (1798) A late 18* century flag item is preserved in the Applied Arts Collection of the Veszprém Dezső Laczkó Museum under inventory no. 53.3.302, mistakenly inventorised as „funeral coat-of-arms." In January 1953, in the course of nationalisation, the piece found its way into the Veszprém (then Bakony) Museum from the manor of Count Endre Mikó-Pejachevich in Porva-Szépalmapuszta (Veszprém County). The object, sewn together from two sheets of silk, each measuring 75 x 75 cm, may have originally been the central section of a flag. On the front sheet, the painted coat-of-arms of the Pejachevich count's family can be seen, and on the back sheet, a painted trophy made up of weapons and articles of equipment, and decorated with the knight's cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order. Both sides of the flag are also provided with Latin inscriptions, which indicate that it was made by the count's son Antal and the county nobility for the inauguration of General Count Antal Pejachevich as Lord-Lieutenant, which took place on 21 May 1798. Escaping from the Turks, the originally Bulgarian Pejachevich family settled in Hungary in the 17

th century. In 1772, they were awarded the rank of count by Queen Maria Theresa. The Verőcze Count Antal Pejachevich from the socalled Buda branch of the family was born around 1749/1750 in Eszék. He began his military career at the age of 18 with the Pálffy regiment of cuirassiers, where in time he rose from sub-lieutenant to captain. He was promoted to major in 1773, and was transferred to the Gradiska border regiment. In 1786 he became a colonel, and regimental commandant of the 1

st ban border regiment. With his regiment he took part in the Turkish war of 1788-1791, distinguished himself repeatedly, and won the knight's cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order. He was a major-general from 1793, fought against the French with the Rhine army, and later served as brigadier of Zagreb. In 1802 he was promoted to lieutenant general, and retired. From 1797 until his death, he was lord-lieutenant of Pozsega County, and the flag described in this study was prepared for his inauguration into this office. He died on 25 September 1802 on his family estate in Verbetitz in Slavonia. The damaged, rather badly preserved flag was restored in 2003 by Márta Egervári and Ilus Kovács, thus saving from destruction this object, which is valuable from the point of view of genealogy, heraldry, phaleristics and vexillology, and is at least unique in our museum collection. 189