The national flag of Ceylon, 1948-51 pattern. The flag is made of synthetic bunting, with a cotton hoist stamped 'CEYLON'. This contains a rope. The design is entirely printed. The ends of the flag are machine stitched with hand sewn repairs at the hoist.

The flag is dark red with a yellow border with pagoda pinnacles in each corner. In the centre is a yellow lion holding a sword in its raised paw (the lion of Kandy). The design was adopted on independence in 1948 and is based on the Lion Flag of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, captured by the British in 1815. It was changed in 1951 to include a green and orange band to represent the Muslim and Tamil communities. In 1978 the pagoda pinacles were replaced by Bo leaves to represent the tree under which the Buddha meditated while receiving enlightenment.