RESOURCE: HERALDRY IN THE SCHER COLLECTION

 

The Frick Collection has a new online resource for those who are curious about the symbolism of heraldry, illustrated with medals from the Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher collection of medals.

An introduction by Stephen Scher explains, Heraldry, the system by which coats of arms are designed and used, is a product of the Middle Ages, first appearing during the reign of Charlemagne (768–814 AD), adding that it was based on visual clues to help armor-wearing warriors identify one another quickly and accurately on the battlefield.

A glossary provides a full list of heraldic terms and literature on the complex field of heraldry can be found in an extensive bibliography.

The online supplement to recently published book, The Scher Collection of Commemorative Medals, lists those heraldic achievements, or coats of arms, that are found on the medals in the publication, and the numbers by which they are organized correspond to the catalog numbers.

To read the complete Coin World article, see:
New resource on heraldry symbolism opens (https://www.coinworld.com/news/world-coins/new-resource-on-heraldry-symbolism-opens)

At some point in their histories, most countries had organizations, often composed of heralds, that controlled the granting and appearance of arms, but except for England and its associated countries—where there are precise rules of design and composition and established laws governing the granting and bearing of arms—such organizations have either disappeared or lost their official authority. In time, individuals were permitted to design and adopt arms with no legitimate claim to authenticity or validity, the sole restraint being that such arms did not copy arms already in existence.

A complete heraldic achievement and its blazon is composed of some combination of the following elements in their proper order: shield, partition, tinctures, ordinaries, subordinaries, charges, crest, helm, torse, mantle, crown, supporters, compartment, insignia, and motto.

   

To access the Heraldry site, see:
HERALDRY IN THE SCHER COLLECTION OF COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS (https://www.frick.org/scher_home)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: SCHER COLLECTION OF PORTRAIT MEDALS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n30a06.html)

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