Pythian Heraldry??

All photos by Maria A. Dering

Since the early 1980s, I have been fascinated by a building in my Upper West Side Manhattan neighborhood: formerly the Pythian Temple, now a condominium. If you would like a larger image of the plaque, please post a comment here or a note on Facebook.

Today, I photographed the exterior details and present them here. The question: are these examples of heraldry (ways to identify oneself and group), decoration, symbols, or something else? What do you think? Please comment.

above the main entrance

Pharoanic figures, maybe based on Ramses II

Horus, perhaps?

asps and lotus

ankh, asp, etc.

At a glance:

Hamburg and Antwerp

Hello again! I'm back to posting photos of the arms on #1 Broadway. Today's feature is the double arms of the port cities of Hamburg and Antwerp. Amazing that these were done in mosaic tiles!

Photo by Floyd Smith Sanford, III

Regarding Hamburg:
The shield pictured above seems most closely related to the city's seal from the year 1245, here:

Courtesy Wikipedia.

As with so many heraldic creations, the seal changed over time as did the arms. But I am glad that the artist for the mosaics at #1 Broadway chose to model his design upon this lovely and gracious 13th century piece.

According to Wikipedia, "The oldest coat of arms of Hamburg has been retained on a city seals int the 12th and 13th century. During the centuries the towers, walls, pinnacles and symbols of the coat of arms of Hamburg changed several times, without changing in character. The central castle was shown with opened doors sometimes with closed doors and with a portcullis."

There must be a moat in front of that door, don't you think?

The mosaic shield of Antwerp is a faithful representation of the city's:

Courtesy Wikipedia.

I found a full description of the arms -- in Dutch -- here: http://www.felixarchief.be/Unrestricted/Folder.aspx?document_id=09041acf800008be&format=pdf. The arms are fascinating and have gone through several iterations.

In the article, at least you can see the arms broken down by elements and perhaps make out bits of the text here and there. Translation, anyone??

More shields soon!

New Heraldic Beast

Greetings and welcome to my revivified NYC Heraldry blog!

I am pleased to share with you a fresh new example of heraldry from a young artist: Brianna Rivera.

Artist: Brianna Rivera

I have dubbed the beast (with apologies for my errors in Latin) Quadropedia Puella Fugens (“four-footed flying girl”). Brianna tells this blogger that the Quad Puella has the wings of a butterfly, humps of a camel, and wings of unicorn. She also has a dolphin’s tale and an extra “stumpy” tail, added for no particular reason.

The feet are those of the dragon, alligator, giraffe, and a bird. The Quad Puella is most likely passant fugens, if there is such a thing.

The colors and patterns, which break the boundaries of heraldic conventions, include gules, azure, rose, argent, purpureus, and or. The field is argent. The rest I leave up to the many experts among us! Feel free to add your descriptions in the comments field or on Facebook – New York City Heraldry page.

I hope you all enjoy this lovely work from Brianna. And look for more updates right here, on a weekly basis.

-- Terrere Nolo Timere Nescio (from the Dering Arms)

Hanging around South America

Here are the beautiful arms of Rio de Janiero and Buenos Aires. There are several of these paired mosaics on #1 Broadway. More to come soon. For now, enjoy the view!

Photo by Floyd Smith Sanford, III

What Is It about Lions?

This lion rampant appears on one of the most interesting structures on Riverside Drive, Manhattan: an old horse-watering trough near 77th Street. Perhaps an equine figure would have been more appropriate? But then again, lions seem so much more appealing as evidence of "having arrived" in Manhattan!

Photo by Maria A. Dering

Over to Europe

As I reviewed our photos of the arms on #1 Broadway, I noticed that the only American example was that of New York City. I would like to have seen what the artist used as his models for San Francisco, Baltimore, New Orleans, and other ports.

Let's head over to Europe. The designer of #1 Broadway used the flag of the City of London as the model for this shield:

Photo by Floyd Smith Sanford, III

Here is the flag of the City of London, courtesy of Wikipedia:

An interesting contrast ...